As part of Science Week at Sheffield Hallam University, Explore Science and Engineering welcomed over 1000 members of the public to our interactive exhibition which showcased work across HWB and ACES. The event was run by academics, researchers and students from across both faculties, giving everyone involved the opportunity to engage and inspire visitors in STEM subjects.

Visitors could explore seven areas of activity during the afternoon including;

• ‘CSI Hallam’ – where there was the opportunity to investigate real and fake coins, blood pattern analysis and make finger print key rings.
• ‘It’s a Small World’ – an area dedicated to microbiology and how venoms can be used to create antimicrobial agents – with the help of some reptile friends!
• ‘What’s Inside Me?’ – children could put on a lab coat and explore the human body. Visitors could see real body organs, take a look inside themselves with ‘x-ray t-shirts’ and squash donuts to learn about our research developments in spinal disc compression and back pain.
• ‘Health Professionals’ – visitors could learn how we fight cancer with radiotherapy, have a go at performing laparoscopic surgery and explore how the brain can recover from injury and disease.
• ‘Computing and Robotics’ where everybody was amazed to see smart robots solving Rubix cube puzzles and navigating a maze.
• ‘Fantastic Chemistry’ – an area hosted by our chemistry students, which included demonstrating how to make ‘elephants toothpaste’. Children could use cabbage juice to investigate pH of various household liquids and how mirror images molecules can smell different.
• ‘Amazing Materials’ – staff and students from ACES demonstrated the fascinating world of auextic materials and taught visitors about nanofillers.

Due to its growing success, this year the event was spread across both Heartspace and the Hertha Ayrton Building and included a schedule of interactive talks throughout the afternoon where the public could become forensic scientists to solve a terrible crime of a stolen Easter Egg, and watch a demonstration of the curious properties of liquid nitrogen.

Dr Katherine Rawlinson, lead organiser of Explore and Senior Lecturer in the Department of Biosciences and Chemistry said;

‘Explore Science and Engineering is one of the highlights of British Science week here at SHU. All of the academics and researchers involved are passionate about engaging and educating people, both young and old, in science, engineering and health.  It is really important that we disseminate our advances in research to the wider public and hopefully we can inspire young people to take up STEM subjects at school and college.   Opening up the University for an event like this also helps to break down barriers with harder to engage groups and higher education.  The event is getting bigger and better each year and it is great to see how enthusiastic our students are to get involved, we really could not do it without them.’

Explore Science and Engineering runs every year as part of the Sheffield Hallam’s British Science Week activities.