Darren Garrison wrote:
            
            
            http://www.greatyarmouthmercury.co.uk/content/yarmouthmercury/news/ 
            
            
            
            Rock came out of the blue
            
            
            20 July 2006
            
            
            It came from outer space - and nearly hit three Caister teenagers.
            
            
            Friends Christian Baker, Liam Luxton and Jason Hewitt, all 14, were on 
            
            Caister beach at about 6.30pm on Monday when they saw a rock falling from the sky.
            
            
            Christian, a Caister High School pupil, said: “It fell quite close to us 
            and it was going at a high speed. 
            
            
  “When we picked it up it was too hot to hold for very long.”
            
            
            He described the rock, now thought to be a metorite as about the size of 
            
            his palm.
            
            
  “It is coloured orange and black. I am definitely going to keep it - it is 
            really cool.”
            
            
            The meteorite now has pride of place in Christian's home, and the family 
            
            are planning to see if anyone can positively identify it.
            
            
            In August 2004 Lowestoft woman Pauline Aguss, 76, was left with a gash 
            
            on the arm after being hit by a meteorite. 
            
            
            On average one meteorite falls every week to earth and the last 
            
            significant find in the UK was in 1991 in Peterborough.            
            
            ------------------------------------
            
            
            notice [below] that Caister High school had a meteorite to look at recently...a 
bit of a coincidence that the kids from that area find one so soon 
afterwards eh? 

.... 

Llewrab (Graham Ensor)            
            -------------------------------------
            http://comm.uea.ac.uk/press/release.asp?id=639
            
            
            26/06/2006
            
 
            From rural Norfolk to Mars...and beyond
            
            
            
 
            Hundreds of teenagers in rural Norfolk are taking a trip to Mars this month,
            
            with the help of scientists from the University of East Anglia.
            
            
            As part of a series of hands-on events, the pupils will don lab coats 
            
            and goggles to study snow algae – the indestructible ‘cosmic microbe’ 
            
            which is the prime contender for ‘greening’ Mars to make it habitable to 
            humans. They will also hold a piece of meteorite in their hands that was 
            
            whizzing through space less than five years ago and even extract their 
            very own DNA.
            
            
            The special UEA science taster workshops, funded by the Government’s Aim 
            Higher initiative, will be held at schools across rural Norfolk 
            throughout the summer. The fun experiments include:
            
            
• Studying snow algae – a bizarre plant which turns snow pink and is the 
prime contender for colonising Mars and making it habitable to humans. • 
            
            Extracting DNA from the pupils’ own cheeks which they wear home in a 
            glass vial attached to a necklace! • Examining ancient pieces of rock 
            which were hit by an asteroid 30 million years ago. • Testing the 
            physical strength of different plants – from passion flowers to cucumber 
            plants - to understand plant ecology.
            
            
            Norfolk is one of the poorest performing counties in the UK in terms of 
            
            higher education take-up and the new UEA scheme targets schools where 
            
            this is of particular concern.
            
            
            Around 60 year 9/10 pupils (14 to 15-year-olds) from each of the 
            
            following schools will be taking part:
            
            
            July 3 Alderman Peel High School, Wells-next-the-Sea July 4 Methwold 
            
            High School, Thetford July 6 Rosemary Musker High School, Thetford July 
            
            13 Park High School, King’s Lynn 
            
            The scheme is run by Dr Kay Yeoman and Dr Harriet Jones, of UEA’s School 
            of Biological Sciences, who will also be taking science out into the 
            
            community as part of the forthcoming BA Festival of Science hosted by 
            
            UEA, Norwich Research Park and Norwich City in September.
            
            
“Many youngsters in rural parts of the county do not consider science – 
            
            or even higher education – an option,” said Dr Yeoman. 
            
“By taking UEA scientists out into the community, we are hoping to raise 
youngsters’ aspirations. We are using science as a tool to inspire and 
excite them about the world.”
            
            
            The following schools have already taken part in the scheme: Caister 
            
            High School; Hammonds High School, Swaffham; North Walsham High School; 
            
            Cliff Park High School, Gorleston; Charles Burrell High School, 
            
            Thetford; and Stalham High School.
            
            
            One teacher said: “The main barriers pupils face are their low 
            aspirations and not wanting to be thought of as ‘clever’.”
            
            
            Another commented: “The event was enjoyable and hands-on – the pupils 
            were highly entertained. The school children were particularly excited 
            by extracting, and seeing, their own DNA.”
            
            
            The BA Festival of Science takes place from September 2-9 in venues 
            
            across the UEA campus, Norwich Research Park and Norwich City. To view 
            
            the full programme, including the many events for children, visit 
            
            www.the-ba.net. You can book tickets on the website or by calling 0207 
            
            0194963. The BA Festival of Science is supported by the East of England 
            
            Development Agency.            
            
            [end of article]