Michael Thame is an Earth scientist who studied Geophysics with Geology at the University of Liverpool, but has never worked in the science realm. Despite a fascination for volcanoes and earthquakes, his lax approach to exacting science rules was his downfall. But one thing struck him; the only field that might have been open to him on graduating was offshore oil prospecting. There didn’t seem to be much more out there. It ignited a spark that, twenty-five years later, has become ScienceVega, because, as Michael thought at the time, it didn’t seem that easy to find information beyond the textbook.

Of course, the internet was in its infancy and smart devices and media things of a distant future, but Michael’s passion was learning about events and not necessarily the dry science behind them. He would read about the 1883 Krakatoa eruption, or Vesuvius in AD79, of what happened in San Francisco in 1906 or Mont Pelée four years earlier. More recently 2022’s eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano in Tonga provided another example of the Earth’s raw power, and the images were astounding.

What if those images and accompanying articles were sent direct to pupils studying GCSE or A-level geography or physics or chemistry? What context would learning about the undersea mapping of the now sunken volcano provide for their understanding of the raw science they were studying in those subjects? And would it help?

Michael’s vision for ScienceVega is to connect amazing and beautifully presented science stories to those pupils studying the foundations they need should they be the author of similar stories in the future. It is about providing context to their studies in a way that will fascinate and encourage. ScienceVega is about delivering the science of today to the scientists of tomorrow.