Public Engagement with Science
Just Bugs!
'Just Bugs!' was a free, hands-on workshop that invited guests to get up close and personal with insects used in scientific research. It debuted at the Cambridge Science Festival in March 2017 at the Department of Zoology at the University of Cambridge, and returning every year until 2020.
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As creator and co-ordinator of the event, I led a team of 10+ scientists developing practical activities and demonstrations of what we can learn from studying the bodies, brains, and behaviours, of different insects. More than 100 guests of all ages attended each year, with each session never failing to be booked up. To view the 2019 advert, please click here.
Pint of Science
Pint of Science is an international 3-day celebration of pubs and science, bringing researchers out into the open to share their discoveries with the public over a beer.
In May 2019 I designed and organised a developmental biology-themed evening titled 'How to Build Body'. We heard highly energetic talks from 3 scientists: Dr Tim Weil, Dr Madeleine Lancaster, and Professor Geoff Moggridge; starting with fertilisation and ending on replacement heart valves made of plastic! The scientists were each paired with artists, who created fabulous pieces inspired by their research which were presented both on the night and at Cambridge's 'Creative Reactions' event at the end of the week.
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'How to Build a Body' sold-out, and more information about the event can be found here.
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Portals to the World
Portals to the World is a fantastic learning and engagement partnership project of the University of Cambridge museums and Dementia Compass - a non-profit organisation that support individuals with cognitive impairment and their care partners.
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Over the course of several weeks, individuals with a dementia diagnosis living in the community and their care partners enjoy bespoke sessions in University of Cambridge museums where they hear short talks by researchers about specific museum specimens, followed by a hands-on activity.
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I participated as a speaker in February 2019, delivering a talk about the surprisingly different ways mammals can reproduce - from the recognisable chimpanzee to the more elusive echidna! I then led a session handling materials I use to study development and reproduction in the lab, namely bottles of fruit flies at different life stages.
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For more information about Portals to the World's run at the Museum of Zoology, please click here.
ChaOS Science Roadshow
Cambridge Hands-on Science (ChaOS) is a student society at the University of Cambridge that takes a wide-range of hands-on science experiments to schools, shopping centres, and town halls around the country.
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I volunteered with ChaOS for a few days during their 2018 summer roadshow - holding the interactive exhibition at a library in Wales and then a shopping centre in Liverpool. I ran a stall getting kids comfortable looking through a microscope at fruit fly wings, leaves, even cross-sections through veins and arteries!
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It was a truly awesome experience seeing the excitement and enthusiasm from the children involved, especially watching them make the connection between what they could see down the microscope and their own veins in their wrists.
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More information about the wonderful work ChaOS does can be found here.
Just Bugs!
'Just Bugs!' was a free, hands-on workshop that invited guests to get up close and personal with insects used in scientific research. It debuted at the Cambridge Science Festival in March 2017 at the Department of Zoology at the University of Cambridge, and returning every year until 2020.
​
As creator and co-ordinator of the event, I led a team of 10+ scientists developing practical activities and demonstrations of what we can learn from studying the bodies, brains, and behaviours, of different insects. More than 100 guests of all ages attended each year, with each session never failing to be booked up. To view the 2019 advert, please click here.