This project, originally funded by PPARC, is the result of a joint proposal between the Universities of Durham and Sheffield together with selected schools in the region, to develop a public outreach programme in particle physics and astronomy in the North of England. Our primary target is 11-16 year old school children and their teachers, and the focus is on exploring the origin of the Universe, the properties of fundamental particles and the nature of the dark matter.
The proposal builds upon the work of two research centres of excellence in the North East: the Ogden Centre for Fundamental Physics at Durham (which is made up of the Institutes for Particle Physics Phenomenology (IPPP) and Computational Cosmology (ICC) and the Boulby mine in Cleveland which hosts the UK Dark Matter project. For more information about the scientific groups behind this project, please click here.

• To deliver a coherent outreach programme by developing original PUST material in the research areas pursued at the Ogden Centre and Boulby.
• To make the resources generated available nationally, both to other school-centred PUST activities in the country and to a wider audience.
• To lay down the foundations for a long-term, self-financing outreach programme.
• Our programme targets school children at Key Stages 3 and 4 and their teachers.

1. The development of innovative teaching packs.
2. The delivery of masterclasses in Particle Physics and Astronomy.
3. The establishment of the first Regional Faulkes Telescope Centre to provide training and access to the telescopes.
4. School visits.
5. Teacher support sessions.