The Science Exhibition

The Eighth Science Exhibition was held on Friday and Saturday, 1st and 2nd April. This was the third exhibition since the war, which inevitably interrupted the triennial sequence begun in 1924 and continued until 1939. The first post-war exhibition was held in 1947 and a second in 1951.

More ambitious and wider in its scope than any of its predecessors, the Exhibition occupied the whole of the new Science block and all the class-rooms of the main building, as well as pressing into service the C.C.F. Hut, the Seamanship Room, the Careers Room, and the School House Quiet Room. This very considerable expansion from the humble beginnings in 1924, when the handful of rooms which then comprised our Laboratory accommodation sufficed to house the exhibition, is a just commentary on the ever-increasing importance of Science, not merely in the specialist field of education but in the whole fabric of the society in which we live today. Even a casual inspection of the wide range of experiments, exhibits, and demonstrations (the programme enumerated 162) which the Exhibition provided must have brought home to the most unenthusiastic layman the magnitude of the revolution which has occurred in .the last 100 years—a revolution which has gathered momentum in our own time and which must inevitably continue with ever-increasing rapidity.

All technological progress derives, of course, from the pure science of the laboratories and the tentative inquiries of research-workers. The theme of .the Exhibition was to illustrate this by underlining the connection between the pure science taught in the School, in Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and Geographical studies, and its application in Industry and Commerce, in the Home, in Advertising, and in Agriculture. This design ipso facto—if the expression, in this connection, is not deviationist and reactionary—inevitably required the display of exhibits illustrating the commercial and industrial application of Science which the School, naturally, could not provide of its own resources, and which were generously loaned to us by various firms and individuals. They were, indeed, an important aspect of the Exhibition, and it was, we believe, a wrong-headed view which criticised their presence on the grounds that they smacked somewhat of the professionalism of a British Industries Fair. Given the theme which the organisers set themselves to illustrate •(and it was, we think, an admirable choice), they were vital to its full and adequate exposition. Furthermore, there was justification enough in the admirable and competent way in which the boys themselves demonstrated and explained these often highly technical commercial and industrial appliances. The lesson which the Exhibition taught, and taught admirably, was that the long road which may lead ultimately to the discovery of Penicillin, the wonders of the electronic brain, or

the building of the atomic power-station at Calder Hall begins in the laboratories of schools such as ours. The Exhibition was a splendid inauguration of the large extensions to our Science Block which, with the consequent re-equipment of the laboratories, have given us facilities for the teaching of school science second to none.

Indeed the satisfying feature of the Exhibition was that first and foremost it was a boys' exhibition. More than two-thirds of the Senior School (as well as a contingent from St. Olave's demonstrating the four Junior School exhibits) were involved. Many of them, of necessity, were not science specialists, but the fact in no way impaired their enthusiasm Though the standard of proficiency naturally varied, one may generalise with confidence and congratulate all the boys concerned on the clarity and assurance with which lectures were given, experiments demonstrated, and exhibits explained to the endless stream of visitors who thronged the Exhibition on both days. They were untiring in their efforts and their zest never flagged for one moment. The team-work manifested in the co-operation of so many boys of such varied ages and qualifications was, to the present writer, one of the most impressive aspects of an impressive exhibition and fully justified the immense amount of planning and preparatory work which had been entailed.

To attempt even a cursory review of an exhibition of so wide a range, besides being beyond the competence of the writer, is precluded by restrictions of space : to select items for special comment would be invidious and indeed would create a distorted impression of the Exhibition as a whole. There was something for all tastes and interests. Doubtless our visitors ranged from the complete scientific ignoramus to the advanced specialist, but none could have failed to find matter of absorbing interest in the varied fare which was offered.

The Exhibition was an unqualified success and was greatly appreciated by the large number of visitors who came to view it—a number which must remain forever a matter of conjecture, since there was no means of checking the attendances. Its appeal went far beyond the parents and friends who normally come to our School functions, and great interest was aroused among the general public of York, to whom on this occasion our doors were open. To Mr. E. K. Robinson, our Senior Science Master, and his Committee of colleagues on the Science and Geography staffs, this general acclaim must have given great satisfaction. For it was, in the last analysis, their inspiration and their untiring devotion in the long and arduous weeks of detailed planning and preparation which made possible an undertaking of such magnitude. They had their reward in an Exhibition which was memorable, and they have earned the gratitude of all of us at St. Teter's.

The formal opening ceremonies took place in Big Hall, suitably transformed to symbolise, by tableaux illustrative of Study, Research, 15

Pure Science and Applied Science, the motif of the Exhibition. We were fortunate in having two men so distinguished in their own fields as Dr. E. C. Stoner, F.R.S., Cavendish Professor of Physics in the University of Leeds, and Dr. Alexander Fleck, the Chairman of Imperial Chemical Industries, Ltd., to perform these ceremonies, the former on the Friday and the latter on the Saturday. Both gave us addresses which were of great interest and apt to the occasion.

We give below precis of their speeches :-

DR. STONER

Dr. Stoner emphasised the importance of technology, or applied science, as compared with the smaller proportion of the exhibition devoted to pure science. IIle thought this "very proper" in view of the much more universal effect which it had on the comfort and convenience of daily life. "Most of the present-day advances in technology have come about because instead of using the old 'trial and error' methods, science has been applied to technological needs," he said. "But science is much wider than that. It is concerned with the exploration of certain unshakable aspects of the world, and that exploration is worthwhile in itself, quite independent of - whether any technological use is made of it or not. "It is an astonishing world, from the stars to the atoms. There are all sorts of things to be explored, wondered at and thought about."

Dr. Stoner said science was rather monopolising the time and thought of everyone present. It must be kept in proportion, regarded as a contributory factor to life, and welded together with every other branch of learning to form one whole. DR. FLECK

Dr. Fleck's main theme was a plea that formal education in schools and universities be brought nearer to the realities of industrial life. "If the schools and universities can produce the type of people whom industry needs, not only will the country prosper (for the needs of industry and the needs of the country are largely synonymous) but the individual will have a better chance of developing his personality through the many opportunities which are open to him in industry," he said. "What industry needs most is educated men. It is perfectly true that we are short of technicians and specialists, but we are even shorter of men who have had a good general education. We want men who have a good grasp of principles, and with sound minds that are not overburdened with the dead weight of unrelated facts. 16