Supersize animals evaluation

Night at the Vet College: Supersize Animals Evaluation Report Autumn 2014

Responses to the question: What was the highlight of the event? Answers written on postcards on exit, n= 80. Image created using Tagxedo; words are proportional to their occurrence.

1 Report compiled by Grace Sim

Contents

1. Aims of Evaluation 3 2. Event Context 4 2.1 Aims 2.2 Objectives 2.3 RVC staff 2.4 Advertising 2.5 Web page 3. Event 11 3.1 Live events 3.2 Stand descriptions 4. Impact 13 4.1 Public 4.1.1 Who was there?

4.1.2 Where had they come from?

4.1.3 Why were they there?

4.1.4 What did they do?

4.1.5 What did visitors think of RVC Lates?

4.1.6 How did RVC Lates change visitor attitudes?

4.2 Staff 5. Recommendations

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6. Conclusions

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1. Aims of evaluation This evaluation report aims to summarise the impact of the public engagement event ‘Night at the Vet College: Supersize Animals’ which took place on Thursday 16th October 2014. This is RVC’s fourth late opening event for the public.

Evaluation aims to: • Document progress since the inception of Lates events (October 2012) • Provide evidence to meet requirements of the Physiology Society, who funded the event • Collate evidence about the impact of the event for visitors, students and RVC staff • Provide insight to inform future RVC Access strategy

Evaluation Process

Event evaluation

RVC staff feedback

Debrief meeting

• Visitors completed postcard feedback form on exiting RVC • Visitors were emailed an e‐survey the day after the event

• RVC staff and students completed an online survey

• Final report produced following debrief meeting to incorporate staff viewpoints

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2. Event Context 2.1 Aims ‘Night at the Vet College: Supersize Animals?!’ took place on Thursday October 16th 2014, from 1600‐2200, on the Camden Campus at the Royal Veterinary College, London. It is the fourth RVC late opening event; the first was initiated in October 2012 by former Widening Participation Officer James Cannon. James worked with Lisa Pritchard, PhD student at RVC, to submit a successful bid to the Physiological Society to fund two subsequent public engagement events. This is the second of the events funded for 2013‐14 by The Physiological Society. The choice of theme was related to The Physiological Society’s aim for this year: to fund public events relating to Obesity. The choice of date was timed to coincide with Biology Week. Our aims are based on our evaluation framework, incorporating RVC and Physiological Society objectives: Skills: To provide opportunities to try out new skills or develop existing skills related to physiology research such as using microscopes and blood pressure monitors • Place: To highlight the physiological research related to obesity at RVC • Emotion: To offer visitors a positive experiences of taking part in physiology‐related activities such as speaking to researchers and participating in shows and demonstrations • Attitudes: To understand the relevance of current physiology research to real life, both for humans and animals, and to have an appreciation of the creativity and diligence in the work of veterinary professionals • Knowledge: To understand current examples of physiological research projects which investigate and provide insight into obesity and related topics (source: Funding bid application submitted Feb’ 2014) •

Grateful thanks goes to the Physiology Society for their support of this event.

2.2 Objectives • • • • •

Skills: Provide 10 stands which include hands‐on elements for visitors to develop new skills or practice existing skills.

Place: Offer tours of the RVC site in addition to making use of our lightwell and dissection areas, to showcase the resources at RVC. Emotion: Deliver one dissection and one lecture per event at minimum. We will work with Student Ambassadors and researchers to make the atmosphere welcoming and friendly, and activities understandable at a range of levels.

Attitudes: There will be RVC staff at each event, to offer visitors the chance to make personal connections with veterinary professionals and form positive attitudes. Staff would be briefed on effective and positive public engagement.

Knowledge: Visitors will be able to learn about the research at RVC through research stands, demonstrations and shows, as well as thinking about the creative links by visiting our anatomy museum and meeting artists

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2.3 Staff

The following staff were involved in the event, in addition to the RVC Access Team. Jack Sisterson (webpage), Angela Poole (IT) and Hannah Murray (Press release) provided support before the evening.

Activity Reception 1. Cycling challenge

2. Anatomy Museum

3. The Physiological Society 4. Royal Society of Chemistry

Key person Carole Brendish, PA to Director of Finance Katie Ryder, BVetMed 2012 Matt Lee, Management Accountant Rob Purcell, PhD student Sally Latham, Post‐doctoral Research assistant Geoffrey Harrison, Artist in residence Daniel Newnham, BVetMed 2014 Maria Picolou, Work Experience student Natasha Neill, Executive Officer, Society of Biology Susan Standring, Emeritus Professor of Anatomy, King’s College Anisha Tailor, Outreach Manager, The Physiological Society Vivien Salt, BioVet Sciences 2012 Christabel Maitland, Education Co‐ordinator, RSC Jennifer Hydari

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5. RVC Farm

Paul Christian, Farm Manager

Jess Timmins, Bvet Med 2013 Graeme Webster, Farm assistant 6. Animal Care Trust shop Dawn Brindle, Development Officer Tim Nolan, Finance Officer 7. Donuts and diets Charlotte Gresham, BVetMed 2011 Sophie Lewis, BVetMed 2011 8. Animal First Aid Henry Mosey, BVetMed 2011 9. Science Buskers Jenny Jopson, Public Engagement Manager, Crick Institute The Francis Crick Institute Melanie Davies, Communications and Engagement Assistant, Crick Institute Science Buskers: Tasneem Yahya Adrian John Stephanie Sundier Ida Barlow Rob Stanley 10. Healthy Heart; Savvy Shoppers James Tate, BVetMed 2011 and Vital Vessels.

Georgina Keeler, Primary Teacher 11. Animal Scene Investigation Clare Muir, Clinical Pathology Resident A Day in the Life of a veterinary Ken Smith, Professor of Companion Animal Pathology Pathologist Henny Martineau, Lecturer in Viral Pathogenesis Pathology additional Alex Stoll, SCTS Veterinary Anatomic Pathology 12. Lardy Liver Gemma Cock, BVetMed 2011 Nigel Goode, Head of Comparative Biomedical Sciences

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13. Zoo nutritionist

14. Anatomy at RVC

Amanda Ferguson‐ ZSL Nutritionist Fiona Sachs Kelly‐Ann Kelleher Jim Mackie Teagan McPhail Claire Willis, BVetMed 2014/ BioVet Sciences 2011 Jo Ditzel, BVetMed2011

15. Royal Institution

Deborah Waller, Public Programme Producer David Porter, Young Scientist Centre Manager Sean Thurston, Young Scientist Centre Technical Co‐ordinator Liz Coates, Young Scientist Centre Technical Coordinator

16. Make a stethoscope

Remi Onabolu, Work experience Louise Dunsby, BVetMed 2013 Juan Sebastian Dennis‐Beron, BioVet Science 2012 Francesca Gambuzzi, BVetMed 2013 Zoe Mitton, BVetMed 2012

17. Guided Tours RVC Student Ambassadors will show you around the Camden site

Jade Kadhim, BVetMed 2013 18. RVC Access Ana Berdinski, Admissions Officer Find out about studying at RVC Andrew Logan, Admissions Officer Vikki Cannon, Head of Admissions Lightwell Tom Moody, Student Records and Planning Officer Isi Adeola, Outreach Assistant Great Hall Isobel Williams, Series Producer, ITN Event 1 Emma Read, Executive Producer, ITN 17‐17.30 Amy Tookman, Assistant Producer, ITN The Making of Young Vets Join us for a Q and A session with vets Jo Hardy, BVetMed 2009 and ITN producers from the recent BBC Eleanor Berry, BVetMed 2009 Holly the Collie! series Chris and Rob Chambers, Holly’s owners Ash Morris, Producer/Director

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18.00‐18.30 Great Hall Do dogs and cats get diabetes?

19.00‐ 20.00 Anatomy Lecture Theatre Dissection demonstration Andrew Crook 20.00‐20.15 Great Hall, Nancy Rothwell Award 21.15‐21.45 Pub Quiz Photography Catering Security General Welcome Accessibility First Aid Dissection rooms Music and social media Co‐ordinator

Stijn Niessen, Senior Lecturer in Internal Medicine Andrew Crook, Head of Anatomy Service Sarah Nicoll, Departmental Technician Ken Lee, Finance Officer Norman Wong, Management Accountant As previous plus RVC contact: Sue Brown, Reader in Translational Medicine Emma Rupert, BVetMed 2013 Dave Sherlock Jones, Student Union Manager Cakes by Veronica Brewster, Scientific Writer Richard Addison, Photographer Mel Kilburn, Head of Catering Winston Edwards, Campus Services Manager Colin Clarke, BVetMed 2013 Lucie Stratton, Bvet Med 2012 Henry Mosey, as previous Ryan Donno, Study Abroad and Short Courses Administrator Richard Evans, Student Recruitment & Social Media Manager Grace Sim, Outreach Development Manager

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2.4 Advertising The event was advertised via the Press association therefore listings appeared in the Evening Standard What’s on guide, Time Out, and via Twitter and Facebook. The Crick Institute, the Royal Society of Chemistry, Society of Biology and the Physiological Society tweeted about the event. The BBSRC shared a link on their website, linked to the Great British Bioscience Festival which RVC Access and SML received funding for participating in (November).

For the second time, Eventbrite was used to manage bookings. This had the advantage that adverts were also generated to Eventbrite members. The service is free of charge and allows attendees to be emailed by the event co‐ordinator. Education contacts were emailed, and alumni were sent news of the event.

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2.5 RVC web page and social media The following description appeared on the website, leading to the eventbrite page. Partner organisations were extremely good at retweeting news of the event.

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3. Event 3.1 Live events The table below shows the live events which took place.

Time

Event

Age

17.00‐17.20 Great Hall

Young Vets Join us for a Q and A session with vets and ITN producers from the recent BBC series

Family

18.00‐18.30 Great Hall

Do dogs and cats get diabetes?

Dr Stijn Niessen and Isi Adeola

Family

19.00‐ 20.00 Anatomy Lecture Theatre

Dissection demonstration Andrew Crook

16+

20.00‐20.15 Great Hall

Nancy Rothwell Award Prize Winners Specimen drawing prize for students under 18

All

21.15‐21.45 Haxby Bar

Pub Quiz

18+

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3. Event 3.2 Activities The map below shows the activities on the night.

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4. Impact 4.1 Public Public impact will be considered under the following questions, in order to characterise the audience and provide information on which to decide future public engagement event planning.

• Who was there?

• Where had they come from?

• Why were they there?

• What did they do?

• What did they think of it?

• How did it change their attitudes?

Methods Visitor responses to the event were gathered using two methods, with a range of closed and open question types: a)

A postcard survey on exiting the event. This survey was designed to gather demographic information and to give space for open responses to three questions; the event highlight, recommendations for improvement, and what surprised visitors about the event. Answers provided formative information about how to improve the event, and summative information about the novel aspects. 120 postcards were completed.

b)

An online survey sent to all attendees further explored how the event had met aims.

Further demographic information was collected. 56 surveys have been completed to date (30.10.2014).

Qualitative and quantitative data will be presented to demonstrate progress compared to previous events, and to show the extent to which the event aims have been successfully met.

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4.1.1 Who was there?

The following data are results from questions which were asked using the postcard exit survey, n=120.

694 tickets were booked, and 512 visitors attended.

This is compared to 498 tickets booked and 198 groups attending in April 2014.

New audiences

52% of visitors who responded to the e survey had never visited RVC before.

This is consistent with April 2014, where the figure was 51%.

Ages of attendees Freq (n=120, postcard responses)

80 70 60 50 40

Oct‐14

30

Apr‐14

20 10 0 0‐11

‐17

‐25

‐35

‐45

‐55

‐65

‐75

‐85

Age

The majority of visitors were 11‐17. There is a clear dip between 25 and 35, which is explained by the fact that many of our visitors were prospective students and their parents, i.e. 11‐17 and 45‐65. There is potential to grow our audience in the 25‐35 age group.

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4.1.1 Who was there?

The following data are results from questions which were asked using the postcard exit survey, n=120.

student

Occupations

The largest sector of Night at the Vet College were students. Based on feedback from previous events, we had promoted the event to RVC and University of London students as it was recognised that the content is ideal for a range of biomedical sciences students.

Compared to previous events, there is greater evidence of attendance from non‐science sectors such as financial and public services.

The majority of groups surveyed contained two visitors.

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4.1.2 Where had they come from?

Event Reach: October 2014 The maps illustrate that the . event reach has increased in October 2014 compared to April 2014. It was clear that many prospective students and recent applicants attended, some of whom had made contact with RVC through RVC On Tour, our secondary schools roadshows. In contrast to previous years, we advertised Night at the vet College directly at these UK wide events, which resulted in attendees to roadshows subsequently visiting Camden.

In addition, the Nancy Rothwell Art Prize attracted entrants and winners from throughout England, and prizewinners travelled from as far North as Leeds specifically for the evening.

Comparison: April 2013

Online reach: facebook Following the event 13 760 people saw the photo album from Night at the Vet College, in addition to those which saw news of this on twitter and via our website.

.

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4.1.3 Why were they there?

The postcard exit survey asked visitors: what was your main reason for attending the event? This question allows visitors to be grouped by their aims for the evening.

In October 2013 we found that visitors could be grouped into those who were: 1. RVC connections Alumni or former employees, or people whose family work or study there wanted to see the site, see if there were any changes, remember being there, and to find out about what their family do all day!

2. Science supporters Some people who work in related industries such as biomedical research wanted an insight into latest research at RVC. They might be scientists, or teachers looking for subject enrichment or career information for their pupils.

3. Curious public Public who did not have connections with RVC were attracted by the unique opportunity to see dissections, and the fact that it is a free event and a new experience.

The two new segments to emerge from the April 2014 event are 4. Fun seekers People who wanted to enjoy themselves by going somewhere new and doing activities.

5. Prospective students Young people who had found out about the event through their colleges or secondary schools.

Over 16 year olds attended in groups, some accompanied by teachers, The main group to attend the October 2014 event were

parents and

prospective students, many of whom had recently applied to RVC.

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4.1.4 How did they find out about the event?

The RVC website was the most frequently stated method of hearing about Night at the Vet College.

How did you hear about the event?

RVC website Facebook Email Friends RVC student

Advertising

School Previous NAVC Summer school contact Colleagues Eventbrite recommendation Biology Week website TES forum Staff University Nancy Rothwell Award Invited 0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Number

Previous advertising has not directly aimed to engage 25‐35 year olds (who may be potential Postgraduate applicants) , nor parents. However, it is clear that is would be beneficial to directly target these groups when marketing future events.

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4.1.5 What did visitors think of Night at the Vet College?

Overall, how would you rate Night at the Vet College?

Where 1 is poor and 5 is excellent, Night at the Vet College received the rating 4.34 on average (n= 55, e‐survey respondents). This is consistent with April 2014, where the rating was 4.32.

96% would recommend Night at the Vet College to a friend Did you learn any new skills?

Yes loads, the kids loved the hands on experiments.

Using a stethoscope.

Using the microscope in the 'Lardy Liver' section to see the fat in the cells, and also looking the red worm from the horse heart.

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4.1.5 What did visitors think of Night at the Vet College?

Did you find out any new facts or information at the events?

•

Yes, it was very informative and everyone from adults to primary school aged children enjoyed it very much. It was a very unique and rare experience to see a real pig, giraffe, and lamb dissections and to touch it. We had lots of questions which were answered. The children also enjoyed seeing the slide specimens.

They came away excited, full of ideas, and learned so much more about science and animals at a much earlier age.

•

Dogs and cats do get diabetes, dogs get type 1 and cats get type 2, poor fat cats!

Cats can get treated as well as dogs however dogs can't get rid of their diabetes but it can be controlled! Dissection of the horse i found out about how the horse can fall asleep by locking their front legs and back legs, saw a demonstration of the front leg. Also all other stuff, but I could go on! Oh and that mans moustache is real! Haha!

•

Yes. In particular that dogs and cats have different types of diabetes and that certain dog breeds are pre‐disposed to diabetes. And also the amount of training vets need to complete to qualify.

How the BBC documentary 'Young Vets' was made. I also talked to some of the students from the series and asked about how they tackled the BVetMed course.

•

•

I liked it that there were several different institutes there (Francis Crick, London Zoo)

•

It was so interesting! I didn't know anything about diabetes in dogs, so everything was completely new.

That dogs can only get type 1 diabetes at a young age and cats get type 2 diabetes due to obesity and insulin resistance. I also found what dog breeds are at high risk of diabetes eg the Samoyed. Whereas dogs such as the English springer spaniel are at a low risk of 0.6.

•

•

•

By attending the 'Do dogs get Diabetes' I was able to find out many new facts about type 1 in dogs and type 2 in cats, I was also able to find out the most common breeds with diabetes which was actually quite surprising.

"Which foods have more calories per 100g than other foods.Dogs‐ Type 1 20 diabetes, and cats‐ Type 2 diabetes. How many donuts are a treat for dogs."

4.1.5 What did visitors think of Night at the Vet College? (continued) Event Highlight

• The talks in the Great Hall‐ very informative and interesting dissection demonstration‐ awesome, perfect dissected animals!!

• I loved the lecture • talking to students while eating • Tour by one of the ambassadors, meeting Young Vets!!

• Andrew • seeing the broadcast of the dissection • Meeting Judy • award, the museum, the artist in residence studios, Great work!!

• cycle event • so much to see‐ great dissection of horse‐ also sheep and pigs‐ in general dissection. Also great anatomy museum.

• The farm at Potters Bar! • Horse dissection. The food!

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4.1.5 What did visitors think of Night at the Vet College? (continued) Recommendations for improvement • • • • • • • • • •

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

• •

accept my application! advertising Andrew for all lectures another talk? More stalls if possible Audio and visual equipment needed sorting out, sound and image were not clear being able to actually see dissection was good (it was full) better directions in building better map booking online for dissection Communicating that a lecture had been cancelled and that there was a lecture in the big hall before the Young Vets talk Dissection for under 16 Events closer together/more activities free alcohol Free food. Didn’t realise you had to sign up for dissection Get some spray to spray in the room when they dissect horses!

Have 2 live dissection demos hmm….actually I can't think of anything, it's pretty good! it was all great It's already really good!

Keep it up! let more people go to see the main dissection Longer talk!

Longer time for young vets talk Maybe a few live animal activities?

Maybe make it clear on website that dissection needs to be booked in advance maybe only allow a certain number of people to book so everyone who attends can be in the dissection More advertising More andrew sessions/lectures

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

• • • • •

more beer more demonstrations more demos/talks More dissections More dissections more entry information more frequent events more information about pre booking for the live dissection More interactive stalls More lecture options more live animals, interactivity more live dissections More often please More people in the live dissection more room in dissection room More seats in the dissection room More seats in the dissection room more spaces for dissections More talks More time to see and do everything! more time to see things more time to see things More warning given before talks begin multiple dissections None x 10 None it was great None! Excellent visit, everyone was helpful and friendly Not enough places for the dissection Not enough places to go to Nothing x 3 Nothing we really enjoyed it!

Nothing really it was all good, probably could do with encouraging more advertising a bit more through social media, as there were lots of friends who were interested once we shared our photos of the kids...

Only wish that the dissection had more available places and that it's additional sign up was better advertised Publicise to schools?? (NB This was done) student sweets Use of colours. Visual aids to guide and make more exciting. Main Hall dull

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4.1.6 How did Night at the Vet College change visitor attitudes?

Will you do anything differently in future as a result of visiting Night at the Vet College?

47% said they found out about career choices, compared to 33% in April 2014 Event attendance • attend more of them • Go earlier • do more!

• Visit more events • Yes, get there earlier, and partake in more activities/lectures.

• Attend the whole event rather than just the lectures • I will definitely come back!

Health • I will make sure that my dogs diet is properly monitored, (and I will also be applying to do veterinary medicine at RVC next october) • Educate friendly and family who own pets in particular cats about the dangers of obesity, as an overweight cat cannot groom themself and cannot move very fast and so gets anxious due to the fear of a dog coming close and not being able to run away.

• Be more careful in my own diet and welfare.

• Yes. I am going to ensure that I do not give my pets as many treats.

Study • Will use different study techniques • Yes, I will try and change the way I learn the information from lectures after the advice given from the graduate students.

Teaching • Yes! Its inspired me to inspire my students more! The dissections and visual resources were incredible and I want to use more of this in my lessons.

• in my teaching and stem work yes Careers/Applications • I'm going to look at my personal statement differently, after talking to students about it. Also research more into both my dogs and my horses' diets.

• It has made me consider looking into the Bioveterinary Sciences more than before, instead of just the VetMed. • No my daughter is just more determined than ever that this is the career she would love to try for • Work even harder for my alevels as I really want to be a student at RVC now • I still want to do something animal related.

• I am also going to try and arrange more work experience for myself as this event confirmed to me that universities look for lots of varied work experience with animals.

• Have included RVC in my UCAS choices but hasn't yet visited, now a lot more interested in going (if given an offer).

• It made me want to become a vet even more. Even though I live in London it made me really consider London royal Veterinary collage as one of my top choices.

• Yes, it will influence preparation for Vet Med application • Look at further opportunities to attend RVC and apply to RVC in 2016 23 • Even more inspired to be a vet.

4.2 Staff Data based on responses to an online survey. (see http://goo.gl/EfWhnx)

What did you enjoy about being part of the event?

• •

• • • • • •

• •

How much the public enjoyed it "Meeting people ‐ lots of different people who were interested in what we were doing. It's nice to see people interested and excited and to be able to show them something new and encourage them to ask questions. There were quite a few GCSE students curious and wanting to do science A levels and come to study at RVC and become vets. " "The resources in the room were great, which meant we could make as much mess as we wanted. And it gave a nice 'natural' rectum!"

Was a great buzz and fun to get so many people working together.

I enjoyed talking and interacting with different people as they were either students, children or part of the general public that wanted to see what the event was about.

Getting to talk to a variety of people throughout the evening I really enjoyed interacting with the public and other departments "We really enjoyed being part of the event, especially: Conversations with students, aspiring vets and school children. Grace's energetic and enthusiastic briefing ‐ great to be introduced to other contributors and get an overview of the activities involved. The food vouchers ‐ much appreciated, thank you! Great buzz in Lightwell at 4pm with families and school children. " Seeing both new and familiar members of the public visiting us.

Great chance to meet prospective students and advise them on vet school/RVC

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4.1.5 Staff feedback

•

"‐ More seating for guests that arrive early‐ Better labelled map so the floors are clearer ‐ perhaps also include toilets and water coolers for the people that forget after it is explained on reception (also possibly more big print out maps stuck up around the uni)‐ Would be useful to be informed about cancelled talks etc. at the start of the event so guests can be warned and don't hang around waiting for a talk that isn't on‐ More prospectuses on reception‐ We had a large queue build up for the dissection room sign up as it arrived later than expected, it would be great if it could be at reception on time‐ See if security will let a few access all areas passes be lent out ‐ I showed a lot of people up to LT1 and the journey would have been a lot easier if the doors would open!

(Also when I was giving a tour)“

•

"Couple of ideas for the cycling challenge to make it smoother to run next time:We could use a big bottle of hand sanitiser or soap and paper towels in the gym (eating sweets after using communal exercise equipment)Some of the children were too small to use the bikes (and blood pressure cuffs) so maybe putting the treadmills on low ‐ medium would be an alternative? I'm not sure how easy it would be to get little cuffs for the blood pressure monitors."

It would be good if there was more flow through our room ‐ there were quite a number of times when noone was coming through but this may have been because everyone was in the theatre.

•

•

I think start time could shift, we could run a few little hands on experiments in the teaching lab perhaps, and also we need to find a solution to the dissection sign up rush‐‐ it was quite a frantic mood and people were stressed out inking they would not get a place. It also means those arriving later after work completely miss out on the opportunity‐‐ though I think the video link sounds like it worked very well.

• • • •

The event went well for me, so i don't believe that improvements could have been made I think the event was really well run ‐ I can't think of any improvements No improvements needed Perhaps finish it earlier? It felt like a long event, and the Lightwell, although busy between about 4‐6pm, was noticeably quiet from 6pm onwards until the end. The dissection is probably the 'climax' of the event for most people, so it might make sense to end the event there, and run it from 4‐8.30pm. That way the street fair ‐ which was lovely and fun and buzzy from 4pm ‐ would function as a prelude to the talks/dissections in the lecture theatres, and the event would be made up of distinct stages rather than parallel strands.

The event followed (and preceeded) a very busy day of teaching in the dissection room which made everything feel very rushed. Taking the teaching timetable into account when choosing dates for future events would be lovely but I appreciate that is not always possible.

I was running stand 10 ‐ Savy shoppers and Dodgy Vessels ‐ mainly aimed at children, and it worked really well with children, but their wern't many who came to the stand. Need to have a bit more on the stand aimed at older people as well. Managed to work an angle on how fat build up in humans differs from that in animals (fat accumulation rarely occurs in vessels in animals) ‐ but whoever does this next year would be recommended to go in with this up their sleeve. We only worked it out part way through with lecturers help!! Great night overall though!

•

•

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5 Recommendations and operational improvements •

Start the event at 5pm instead of 4pm to allow greater set up time

•

Increase event capacity to 1000

•

Ensure that the Lecture Theatre is free immediately prior to the main live event

•

Keep the video link, but practice interactive elements beforehand

•

Keep all activities in central areas with several activities: the Lightwell and Dissection Room

•

Take the teaching timetable into account

•

Make sure all activities can be modified for a range of ages

•

Music worked well‐ keep this

•

Doors need to be kept open internally after 7pm

•

Aim to grow the 25‐35 age group audience and parents

•

RVC Access staff need greater communications team assistance to realise the potential of these events

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6 Conclusions •

Night at the Vet College: Supersize Animals delivered the intended aims for 512 visitors to take part in activities with the following learning opportunities:

•

Skills: Provide 10 stands which include hands‐on elements for visitors to develop new skills or practice existing skills.

Place: Offer tours of the RVC site in addition to making use of our lightwell and dissection areas, to showcase the resources at RVC. Enjoyment: Deliver one dissection and one lecture per event at minimum. We will work with Student Ambassadors and researchers to make the atmosphere welcoming and friendly, and activities understandable at a range of levels.

Attitudes: There will be RVC staff at each event, to offer visitors the chance to make personal connections with veterinary professionals and form positive attitudes. Staff would be briefed on effective and positive public engagement.

Knowledge: Visitors will be able to learn about the research at RVC through research stands, demonstrations and shows, as well as thinking about the creative links by visiting our anatomy museum and meeting artists

• •

•

•

The strength of the event lies in the collaboration both outside and within RVC. We were extremely grateful for the involvement of partner and supporting organisations, who assisted both on the night and in marketing the event. Within RVC the event gained momentum though not only those regularly involved with Public Engagement but with additional departments who volunteered such as CBS research staff and students, and Finance.

With grateful thanks to all involved.

The next event will take place on March 19th 2014, and will be on the theme of ‘Reproduction’.

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With grateful thanks to our event funder The Physiological Society and our event partners and supporters.

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