From excavating dinosaur bones to building Lego washing machines, the University of Warwick is serving up fun for all the family with the return of A Slice of Science.
The free event, organised as part of British Science Week, features a jam-packed afternoon of workshops, activities and experiments giving people of all ages the opportunity to explore the wonderful world of STEM.
Interactive workshops range from “Build your own washing machine with Warwick’s Young Engineers”, where children are challenged to build a washing machine using only Lego bricks to exploring space in a portable planetarium!
The event, curated by the Widening Participation team in the university’s Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine, also includes talks from Professor Celia Brown of Warwick Medical School – who will explore the relationship between medicine and disease in “Madam Statistician and the Rash-covered King” – and Dr Alex Baker from the Chemistry department – whose talk entitled “How to Freeze a Human” uses interactive experiments to demonstrate the impact of extreme temperatures on the human body.
People of all ages from across Coventry, Warwickshire and beyond are welcome to explore the exciting world of engineering with activities including robot and machinery programming challenges designed by Warwick Manufacturing Group, and a behind-the-scenes talk from STEM Ambassadors at Jaguar Land Rover.
Visitors can also learn more about the world we live in with a biodiversity walk around the university’s campus, led by University of Warwick’s sustainability champions.
The walk, taking place as part of Green Week, includes an online app to help visitors recognise and learn more about local plant life, with people encouraged to explore their local park, garden or green space and learn more about biodiversity.
Amanda Bishop, Widening Participation Co-ordinator for the Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine, said: “The Slice of Science Family Day is a fun, interactive day that aims to inspire the next generation of scientists. The event is filled with inspiring talks, hands on workshops and cake!”
“Each workshop and talk will be delivered by those who are passionate about their subject and we can’t wait to see you there!”