Page 16 - The College Echo Spring 2019

14 Science

Getting ‘Hands On’ with Science

On Thursday, 24 January Year 10 Science students took part in the Science and Technology Showcase at the
University of Plymouth. This annual event gives students the opportunity to get ‘hands on’ with Science. They
were able to experience a range of interactive science exhibitions from Segways to computer game
technology, oculus rift to marine wildlife, chemistry experiments to healthcare sciences.
The day included lectures on topics such as extinction and climate change, and artificial intelligence. There
was something for everyone and plenty of opportunity for students to learn about STEM careers and higher
education courses.
This inspiring and informative day was arranged as part of a series of Physics trips and events for Year 10
students subsidised by the Ogden Trust (www.ogdentrust.com).

Planetary Scientist Inspires Students

The College was highly privileged to welcome Dr Suzie Imber, Planetary Scientist and winner
of the BBC2 series Astronauts: Do You Have What It Takes?
Dr Suzie Imber spoke to students about her life and work. Including her amazing
mountaineering achievements, her work as a Planetary Scientist, and helping to design and
build the X-ray Spectrometer that is on the BepiColombo mission currently on its way to
Mercury. She also told us all about some of the challenges she faced on the way to
winning the BBC2 television show, “Astronauts: Do You Have What It Takes?”
A Year 10 student said, “Suzie Imber is a strong independent, inspirational scientist who
showed us that anything really is possible. Most everyday school talks centre around a
great achiever we have never met, on a digital screen, disconnected from reality,
making it difficult to illuminate, inspire and move students and teachers alike to action.
Suzie completely reconstructed the belief we had about Physics and the opportunities
available to us. She sparked motivation and her speech was my favourite one yet.”

SoCool for Science

On Thursday, 14 March, Year 9 students travelled to the Peninsula Medical
Laboratories at Derriford Hospital for a ‘SoCool for Science’ trip.
The students were able to try out, first hand, some of the same techniques used in
medical research and were able to meet medical researchers who are doing studies
into the biological basis of human diseases such as cancer, antibiotic resistance and
disorders of the nervous system.
They carried out 3 activities, firstly extracting DNA, secondly growing kidney cells in
the laboratory and finally understanding how we can use the fruit fly to model and
understand human disease. A very informative day was enjoyed by all the students.

The College Echo - Spring 2019 - www.ivybridge.devon.sch.uk