Science is, at its heart, curiosity. Scientists are wonderers, and that is something we all have in common. This has been the driving principle shaping our involvement with the Eager Explorers event over the last three years.
On Wednesday 20th August, Abbey People ran their annual Eager Explorers; a day packed full of science related activities and stalls. This was the third year we at KCESP have offered a stall, always on the theme of curiosity and wonder in science. As with last year’s event, Eager Explorers also deliberately catered to older kids and adults, with stalls exploring scientific careers alongside more ‘hands on’ science activities.
We chose to bring wonder to the event once again, building on last year’s wonder-wall theme (read more about that here). During our last two years at the event, we were thrilled to receive over 70 curious questions from Abbey residents. This year, we decided to answer them.
Working with local community artist Hilary Cox Condron, we created a Wonder Dome. The dome was left cardboard coloured on the outside, to inspire a home-grown, accessible feeling. The inside was covered in the questions posed by Abbey residents, and the answers which we had found. These answers were supplied by scientists across the university, and we are very grateful for their time and support.
The dome could comfortably fit small groups inside, and so we could gather there to discuss scientific questions and answers. Oftentimes, as the younger attendees enjoyed exploring the dome and its tactile features, our supporting scientists were able to have conversations about science with their accompanying adults.
We were delighted to have Dr. Matthew Bothwell, Public Astronomer at the Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge, on hand to support this event. We were also thrilled that Professor Edgar Turner (Department of Zoology) could join us. The questions from Abbey largely fit into categories of ‘Space’, ‘Our Natural World’, and ‘Human Nature’, making our team ideal for the job.
The dome was incredibly well received, featuring on a BBC news report about the event. The televised feature which showed the dome is no longer available, but a write up of the day can be found here.
