Spotlight on Science Creates
Over the last five months, ten local schools partnered with Bristol WORKS, have had the opportunity to engage with Science Creates, a science incubator based in the centre of Bristol that’s home to a variety of fascinating science and tech start-ups.
It’s impossible to visit a science incubator without first conducting your own experiment with Science Creates Outreach! From DNA extraction to balloon cars and making plastic alternatives, students started off their day at Science Creates getting hands-on and creative with their active science experiments. Each visit comprised of a workshop designed in collaboration with the companies based in Science Creates and a tour of the innovative science labs designed for each organisation. The workshops are designed to link with the curriculum to reinforce students understanding of scientific knowledge and to enhance their practical and scientific enquiry skills.
Oasis John Williams, Merchant’s Academy and Bridge Learning Campus explored forces in Newton’s laws of motion workshop by building balloon powered cars and competing to see whose would travel the furthest. Merchant’s Academy took part in the DNA workshop, where students got messy extracting DNA from strawberries whilst learning about genetics. Meanwhile, Bedminster Down students learnt how batteries work by creating their own in an ice cube tray using salt solutions to light up LEDs. Finally, students from New Siblands, Blaise High School, New Fosseway, Oasis Brightstowe and St Matthias got stuck into a workshop on plastic pollution and created bioplastic – an alternative to single-use plastic!
Each workshop incorporated transferable skills, such as teamwork, problem solving and communication, skills that are so important for secondary school students to practice in preparation for the world of work. Ben Hetherington, Head of Outreach at Science Creates Outreach, commented that the most rewarding part of delivering Newton’s laws of motion workshop was ‘seeing young people using problem solving skills to tackle engineering challenges.’
Students also learnt that you don’t just have to be a scientist to work in this sector, there’s a variety of careers from marketing to finance and HR within the science start-up world. One teacher said that the most beneficial part of the session was that it ‘opens the eyes of students to different careers other than construction or hair and beauty which are commonly what they think of’. Another teacher commented that it was good for the students to ‘try the experiment and see the labs to hear about what people do’.
The students also really enjoyed the sessions with one student commenting ‘it was really helpful and fun’ and another highlighting ‘I feel like I know more than I did before’. Students have also mentioned that it helps with transferable skills with one student commenting that making the balloon car ‘helps with my teamwork’.
These sessions have been so popular we’ve already started to book some in for the next academic year! A huge thank you to Ben and colleagues from Science Creates Outreach who have worked with us to plan and deliver all of these brilliant workshops. Also thank you to the schools and students for fully engaging with all the activities across the sessions.
