For the latest set of school workshops, many senior scientists from Wellcome Trust Centre for Cell Biology, dressed up in period costume and wigs.
It can be hard to get cell biology across to children. We decided to use acting and story telling to bring the subject alive. The response has been tremendous, in November we had 16 slots for schools, and 45 schools applied. We also took our play to Edinburgh International Science Festival, and ran two shows each day from April 13/14/15th .
In the play, the children meet four scientists from history and each one has a theory. The children demand that the scientist prove their theory, shouting ‘prove it’ enthusiastically. The scientists then help the children to perform their own experiments to prove or disprove the theory. The play ends with a modern day scientist talking about their current research.
Target Audience: General Public / Schools
Who Gets Involved: All Researchers from Professors to PhD / MSc Students, as well as technicians and undergraduates. A Science background is definitely an advantage, biology/biomedical science a particular help
Benefits: Researchers get straight out into work with the public, with very little planning or prep required. The shows are enjoyable and everyone has a good time being involved with them. You will get lots of positive feedback from the public/pupils you work with.
Timescale: Initially, a 1.5 hour training session, then two days work within the project visiting schools. Sometimes we run open days, and that involves an afternoon or two working with the public
To Find Out More: http://www.biology.ed.ac.uk/research/groups/outreach/wcb/Home.html
