251 August 2015 - Gryffe Advertizer
The Advertizer - Your local community magazine to the Gryffe area.
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Mission Discovery Gets Ready<br />
To Blast Off<br />
Nearly 200 young people from Renfrewshire are preparing to launch their<br />
future careers into orbit by joining former NASA astronauts and scientists on a<br />
week-long space school.<br />
Sma’ Shot Day<br />
Thousands of residents descended on Paisley town centre for Sma’ Shot Day –<br />
the annual celebration of the area’s weaving heritage. The area around Paisley<br />
Abbey and Town Hall was a hub of activity as young and old alike enjoyed the<br />
festival atmosphere.<br />
The day kicked off at noon when hundreds of volunteers and members of local<br />
community groups lined up for the historic parade from Brodie Park to the town<br />
centre. This year’s parade brought the Sma’ Shot story to life using speciallycreated<br />
props and costumes designed during workshops run by outdoor arts<br />
specialists Walk the Plank last month.<br />
Mission Discovery Renfrewshire returned at the end of June, with local school<br />
pupils and students getting to work hand in hand with a panel of space experts<br />
to design experiments that could be launched into space.<br />
It is only the second time Mission Discovery has taken place in Scotland, having<br />
first been brought to Paisley in 2014.<br />
This year the panel of experts included Stephen Bowen, who has completed<br />
three spaceflights to the International Space Station and is the first and only<br />
astronaut to fly on consecutive shuttle missions.<br />
This unique educational programme, run by International Space School<br />
Educational Trust (ISSET), gives young people the chance to learn:<br />
• NASA leadership, team building and personal development skills<br />
• About biomedical research<br />
• How space exploration benefits life on earth<br />
• What the space environment feels like (from those who know)<br />
• About scientific research, experiments and innovation - on earth and in<br />
space<br />
Council Leader Mark Macmillan said: “I<br />
am delighted to be welcoming the team<br />
from ISSET back to Renfrewshire and<br />
really excited for all those taking part.<br />
“We want to raise young people’s<br />
awareness of career opportunities<br />
in the fields of science, technology,<br />
engineering and maths. Mission<br />
Discovery is an amazing way of doing<br />
that by providing the opportunity for<br />
young people to not only meet but work<br />
alongside astronauts and scientists<br />
from the highest level.<br />
“A key aspiration of Mission Discovery<br />
Renfrewshire is also to ensure that all<br />
young people have the opportunity to<br />
develop their academic potential, irrespective of social background. Thanks to<br />
our wide range of sponsors from the business community we are able to offer<br />
this programme to all young people free of charge.”<br />
Mission Discovery is being offered to Renfrewshire school pupils as part of<br />
a drive to establish Renfrewshire as a centre for excellence in the study of<br />
Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM).<br />
Last year’s winning team, Apollo 12, developed an experiment to test bacteria<br />
to help find a cure for the eye condition conjunctivitis. Their experiment is due<br />
to be tested on the International Space Station this summer.<br />
Mission Discovery Renfrewshire <strong>2015</strong> is sponsored by University of the West of<br />
Scotland, West College Scotland, Renfrewshire Chamber of Commerce, Clyde<br />
Marine Training, Fission Creative, Muir Slicer Associates Ltd, PM Information<br />
Solutions Ltd, Scottish Leather Group Ltd, The Experience – Kibble, Peak<br />
Scientific, Thermo Fisher and 29 Studios.<br />
For more details go to www.renfrewshire.gov.uk/missiondiscovery<br />
In the town centre itself, attractions included live music from members of youth<br />
group Create Paisley and theatre from PACE, plus outdoor stalls, a funfair, giant<br />
games and inflatables. There was also an outdoor food market and the Slug in<br />
a Bottle market, with a mix of vintage items and craft and design, as well as a<br />
tea dance in Paisley Town Hall. The afternoon – as always – ended with a bang<br />
with the spectacular pyrotechnics of the Burning of the Cork, intended to mark<br />
the victory of the weavers in an industrial dispute of the 19th century.<br />
For the first time there was an evening programme in Paisley Arts Centre,<br />
featuring a Sma’ Shot Bigshot poetry slam, and a showcase of the 2020 film<br />
project run by Create Paisley. Residents were also able to visit the Sma’ Shot<br />
Cottages in Shuttle Street, where volunteers in period costume were on hand<br />
to offer guided tours. Renfrewshire’s Provost Anne Hall, who was there on the<br />
day and at the head of the parade, said: “Sma’ Shot Day is always one of the<br />
highlights of the area’s events calendar, and this year’s event was as wellreceived<br />
as ever.<br />
Sma’ Shot Day celebrates the town’s proud textile history by marking the victory<br />
of Paisley’s weavers in an industrial dispute of the 19th century.<br />
The weavers didn’t receive payment for the Sma’ (small) Shot thread, which was<br />
unseen, but held together the famous Paisley-patterned cashmere shawls.<br />
A long fight and political battle ensued which the weavers eventually won and<br />
renamed the traditional July holiday Sma’ Shot Day.<br />
The day is just one of several big events which happened in Renfrewshire during<br />
July - with the British Cycling Youth National Circuit Race Championships on<br />
Sunday 12 July, followed by the Paisley Pipe Band Championships on Saturday<br />
18 July.<br />
For more information on local events, see www.renfrewshire.gov.uk/events