Sci Fest 2019
Posted On: 18/03/19
On Saturday 16th March, as part of British Science Week, CRGS was transformed into Sci Fest 2019 as we invited everyone to explore the exciting world of science!
The event hosted lots of fantastic workshops and activities run by both CRGS students and external providers on all aspects of science, from dissecting a pig’s head (not for the faint-hearted—that’s for sure!) to code-breaking.
There were many activities which proved to be very popular: the two planetariums—Astrodome and Astronomy Roadshow—giving visitors the opportunity to immerse themselves in the night sky; the propulsion lab, providing an exciting visual display focusing on Starchaser’s development of rocket engines; Mini Monsters, giving people a chance to get up close and personal with minibeasts, reptiles and invertebrates; and a spooky science escape room, in which people had to decode riddles in order to find their way out! There was even a real-life space rocket!
The aim of Sci Fest as part of science outreach is to get young people engaged in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) subjects and to prove that science is for everyone. This year, we welcomed the highest number of visitors yet! The event was absolutely packed, with an estimated 2,500 visitors throughout the day, keeping all the volunteers, ambassadors and parents on their toes!
To coincide with Sci Fest, the Science Department ran a poster competition open to all ages. Since the broadcast of David Attenborough’s Blue Planet, the impact of single-use plastics on the environment has been a trending topic. Students (and children from other schools) were asked to design a poster to either highlight the issue of plastic pollution on the environment or to discourage the use of plastics and promote more eco-friendly behaviours. Prizes for the winning entries included Amazon vouchers and gifts from the Science Museum. Well done to Year 9 student Rory McGlade who won the poster competition in the CRGS category. Two children from Broomgrove Infant and Junior School and Great Totham Primary School respectively won the non-CRGS category. The overall Primary School winner was Broomgrove Infant and Junior School. Congratulations to all the competition winners and well done to everybody who entered and created brilliant posters!
Art Club (a group of four Sixth Formers and three Lower School students) created a whale tail out of single-use plastic rubbish that they had collected. This was displayed at Sci Fest to raise awareness about the amount of plastic waste and the impact it has on the oceans. Year 12 student Joe Tester has also designed bags and is selling them to raise money for the Marine Conservation Society UK.
We should give a huge thanks to all the volunteers that gave up their Friday evening and Saturday to come and help, all the ambassadors and lab technicians that devoted their time and energy to organise and make the day run smoothly and of course Miss Daisley and Mr Henson who devoted so many hours to organising the event and without whom it would not have been the huge success that it was.
See you next year!
