Invention and Discovery

18 March 2013

Aberystwyth University will welcome more than 2,000 pupils from 20 primary and secondary schools in Ceredigion, Powys and Gwynedd on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of this week (19-21 March) for a festival of science.

The three day festival, which is organised by the University’s Centre for Widening Participation and Social Inclusion, forms part of the 2013 National Science and Engineering Week which runs from 15 to 24 March.

This is Wales’ and the UK's widest grassroots celebration of all things science and engineering.

Event organiser Roger Morel from the University’s Centre for Widening Participation and Social Inclusion said, “This event aims to shine the spotlight on how all branches of  science, technology, engineering, computing and maths relate to our everyday lives and helps to inspire the next generation of scientists with fun and participative activities.

“The Centre for Widening Participation is all about education for everyone. We want people, no matter what their background, to have an opportunity of higher education and bringing people into a campus for such an event is often the first step in the education journey.”

“Called ‘Invention and Discovery’, the festivalis also about showing the excellent scientific work that is being done at Aberystwyth University to widen the knowledge of science among school children and show them how important it is in all our lives,” Roger added.

Those attending the festival will have the opportunity to take part in live experiments with plants and real hands-on encounters with wild animals to understanding volcanoes and climate change.

There will be interactive stalls from the University’s departments of Mathematics and Physics, Computer Science, Sports and Exercise Science, Psychology, Geography and Earth Sciences, Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences as well as Ceredigion County Council.

Taking place in the Sports Cage on the University’s Penglais Campus, the festival extends a warm invitation to members of the public with the Wednesday session remaining open until 6 in the evening.  Opening hours for school pupils on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday are 9.30 am until 3 pm.

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