YOUNG SCIENCE COMMUNICATORS

The Young Science Communicators delivered two Flash Bang Shows during the Spring Term. The first took place at Manchester Academy and the second show was held at Withington where the audience comprised Year 5 and Year 6 pupils from West Didsbury CE School and Withington’s own Juniors. The team delivered incredible shows displaying great knowledge, skill and confidence explaining Science to the younger pupils. Inspired by the magic learnt at Hogwarts, the Flash Bang Show explored many different topics through the delivery of enticing and engaging experiments. There were colour-changing potions, dry ice, colourful flames, luminous solutions and even making things disappear. The experiment known as ‘elephant’s toothpaste’ was a resounding favourite. Congratulations to all the pupils and staff involved in continuing the success of this long-standing Partnership project.

On Saturday 28th January, the Young Science Communicators programme launched for the Year 12 Chemists with a workshop led by Xplore Science, a science discovery centre based in Wrexham. The day began with an introduction to effective communication, and what STEM and science might mean to different age groups. We then learnt how we would explain scientific concepts to different audiences, such as four-year-olds, teenagers, adults and senior citizens and how to make science accessible for all.

Following this introduction, we got the opportunity to get involved in some ‘kitchen chemistry’, making slime - an activity that was much enjoyed by all.

After a quick lunch break, the team from Xplore led a highly impressive ‘Pick of the Pack’ show, involving short, engaging experiments which provided us with some inspiration for what our own projects could be like. One particular favourite experiment was setting fire to water, where bubbles of washing up liquid and gas were set alight on a trough of water. Finally, the presenters gave us a thorough insight into how we can achieve a Gold CREST Award, and how to deliver a successful, crowd-pleasing show.