Cash for City's Pint-Sized Boffins

Oct 25, 04:31 PM

Current Headlines: By PETER YOUNG

A FAMILY project to introduce children to the world of science from the age of one is planned on Tyneside.

Lottery chiefs are backing the groundbreaking venture which will be part of the Science City initiative.

Sessions will be set up for youngsters between one and 13 with the message that science is fun and can lead to good careers.

The scheme was unveiled today by leaders of the Science City project which aims to turn the region into a centre of scientific excellence.

Partners Newcastle City Council, Newcastle University and the regional development agency One NorthEast are working to develop the city as a world-class location for knowledge-based business.

The aim is to build on the region's existing strengths in pioneering scientific research.

The centrepiece will be 100,000 sq metres of new buildings on the former Tyne Brewery site in Newcastle which will house new scientific research, teaching and business facilities.

The hope is the project will create thousands of new jobs.

Now, the Big Lottery Fund has awarded the Northern Learning Trust pounds 324,956 to run a scheme called Science Families.

The project is a partnership between the council's family learning and library services and the trust and aims to make science relevant and exciting for families in regeneration areas.

Parents and children will attend workshops on a range of topics including the environment and engineering.

There will be sessions specially tailored to appeal to different age groups.

Sciencetots will be for one to four year olds, Sciencekids for five to 10 year olds, and Scienceteens for 11 to 13 year olds.

Taster workshops will help families decide which subjects they would like to learn about and there will be day events and holiday activities based around science.

Newcastle was designated a science city by the Government in 2004.

Coun John Shipley, leader of Newcastle City Council, said: "This grant shows our region is already benefiting from Newcastle's status as a Science City."

(c) 2007 Evening Chronicle - Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.