Katy organises a science outreach with local schools
An important role of a responsible scientist is to make sure our work is understood and accessible to all members of society. By engaging with pupils, we aim not only to inform them about the interesting science going on at York, but also hope to inspire the future generations of scientists.
Katy took on a gargantuan task of engaging seven to eleven year-olds from local schools with the basics of the scientists’ toolkit. She designed a workshop which, delivered with the help of other lab members, allowed pupils to use their art skills to understand the principles behind the formations of shadows and the use of fluorescent proteins to understand the locations of proteins in the cells. Pupils had an opportunity to operate light microscopes and see plant cells with their own eyes, which received a lot of excitement. We were able to answer many questions on the day-to-day work of a scientist and even explain to some very enthusiastic students how you can become one. The workshop was delivered to three schools and received uniformly positive feedback, praising the accessibility of the complex topics and also its ability to keep the students engaged through its whole duration.
This project was equally fun for us and we are hoping to organise more public engagement in the future.