There will be bangs, squelches, snot and ice cream, and a few robots wandering around at this year’s Festival.
If your little ones love science, take a trip to the Cambridge Science Festival, from 9-22 March, 2015.
Kicking off the first week, on Monday 9 March, Cambridge Science Centre open their exhibition, Extreme engineering. Kids and adults alike will be able to build and test their engineering ideas, get hands-on and build towers, find out how engines work and discover the secrets of circuits.
Saturday, 14 March, will see nearly 100 talks, exhibitions and demonstrations taking place across the city, including the chance to make a solar-powered car; hands-on biology identifying creepy crawlies; looking at your own cells under a microscope; and bottling your own genes.
Airbus Defence and Space will be exhibiting a working Mars rover prototype called Bruno. It will move around on a simulated Martian surface – with members of the ExoMars rover team on hand.
Throughout the day, a huge favourite with children and families, Dr Peter Wothers, the Modern Alchemist, returns for his action-packed demonstration, The chemistry of Light.
At the New Museums site, CHaOs and Crash, Bang, Squelch will provide a range of demonstrations, including vacuum bazookas and custard fireballs.
For the second Science on Sunday, and the final day of the Science Festival, Cambridge Biomedical Campus will be holding a day bursting with all things medical. Visitors will be able to learn about the wondrous way of cells and what can go wrong; try their hand at simulated surgery; enjoy climbing into a ginormous nose, learn why and how we make snot; walk through a giant inflatable colon; and see a demo of the da Vinci robot, which takes surgery beyond the limits of the human hand.
Dr Lucinda Spokes, Cambridge Science Festival Coordinator said: “There are just so many fantastic events for children and families to enjoy this year. I’m really looking forward to my own children coming along. They’re already getting excited!”
There are loads of fun science activities for kids of all ages. For further information about the Cambridge Science Festival or to browse the full range of events, visit: sciencefestival.cam.ac.uk
The chemistry of light with Dr Pete Wothers [Photo: Nathan Pitt]