Over 3,000 visitors flock to Sci-Fest 2023
Posted On: 30/03/23
A T-Rex, planetarium, rockets, dissections, fossils and VR experiences were just some of the many activities that wowed visitors to Colchester Royal Grammar School’s Sci-Fest 2023 on Saturday 18th March. In excess of 3,000 visitors explored the wonders of science across the school’s site via a wide range of family-friendly activities, both free and ticketed, that were run by CRGS students and external providers.
CRGS Students created many of the challenges in the puzzle rooms, ran the hugely popular Escape Room, handled the exploding experiments and the dissections, to highlight only a few of the many free activities available to visitors. The Design & Tech department was constantly busy with visitors playing with the Lego challenge team’s designs and getting in to the driving seat to rev the Engineering Society’s F24+ car.
Other highlights of the day included the Planetarium tent in which people enjoyed learning about the night’s sky; Ed’s Mini Monsters was packed with lots of hesitant glances from visitors who were invited to touch and look up close at various mini beasts including a snake and a tarantula; the Forensics Lab turned visitors into CSI officers and encouraged them to compare DNA samples, look for clues and decipher ‘who dunnit’. The Smoothie Bikes were in constant use as visitors peddled to make delicious, healthy drinks. Queues of inquisitive children were keen to handle and look at fossils and were also very keen to meet Sophie, a 7-year old T-Rex, look closely at her teeth and stroke her head. The Essex Wildlife team inspired visitors and Essex Birdwatching Society ran a name the bird competition while Colchester Croquet Club encouraged lots of participation regardless of the morning’s poor weather. School’s Out was busy with their Wipe Out bouncy castle and there was the chance to travel in space and see wild animals up close via Virtual Reality headsets.
Colchester Zoo’s Wildlife Ranger and Forensics set various challenges for visitors including handling alligator and snake skin to analyse the difference and looking closely at animal skulls. The University of Essex’s Maths department challenged visitors in the Puzzle Room and their Psychology department brought their ‘Baby Lab’ to introduce visitors to the various tasks they use to study the development of perceptual and cognitive abilities in infants and children.
A range of cakes and treats supplied by the CRGS parents and carers association raised funds for the school, and Ronnie’s Kitchen, whose popular food truck was never without a queue.
Mrs Russell, Sci-Fest organiser, commented, ‘It was fantastic for the school to host Sci-Fest again as part of our community outreach; we were overwhelmed by the number of visitors who made the day a huge success. It was lovely to see the wonder and excitement in visitors faces as they enjoyed learning about all aspects of science. A huge thank you to the staff, students and the external providers for making it such a great experience for all.’
