This is a guest blog written by Dr Laura Hobbs, Senior Research Fellow in Science Communication and lead for Science Hunters.
In August, UWE Bristol’s Science Hunters team travelled to Rutherford Appleton Laboratory’s Summer Stargazing event, where families gathered to witness a near-total solar eclipse. Alongside the excitement of the astronomical event, children had the chance to discover the science and engineering behind the UK’s national space laboratory.
Based in the Science Communication Unit (SCU), the Science Hunters team develop practice and research in engaging children and young people with STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) subjects through interactive topic exploration and constructive play in Minecraft. Supported by a Spark Award from the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), the Science Hunters: Space Missions in Minecraft project brings together specialists from UWE Bristol and RAL Space to create, deliver and evaluate activities introducing real-world space science, testing facilities and Earth observation.
The Summer Stargazing event at Harwell Science and Innovation Campus offered visitors a packed programme of talks, tours, demonstrations and practical activities meeting the needs of the broad age ranges attending. Alongside opportunities such as creating and coding light sensors, recreating the solar system using fluffy planets and trying ice cream made using liquid nitrogen, visitors could join the Space Missions in Minecraft team to explore the most complex telescope ever flown: the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).
The session introduced children to the telescope and how it helps explore the history of the universe. Using RAL’s JWST Lego model and an infrared camera display, participants learned why the telescope needs to remain extremely cold to detect infrared light from space to allow study of distant galaxies, the first stars, forming planets and more.
They then put this knowledge into practice by designing their own space telescopes in Minecraft. Like real engineers, they had to think about where their telescope would be located, how it would be shielded from heat, and how it would be powered to communicate with Earth.
As the eclipse began, activities paused and visitors headed outside. Equipped with eclipse glasses and gathered around solar telescopes, families and event staff fell silent as the Moon moved between the Earth and the Sun. Afterwards, visitors returned to the activities full of questions and enthusiasm. The Space Missions in Minecraft team spoke with families about the JWST, space science and how Minecraft can be used to explore complex scientific ideas and admired some excellent telescope designs created by participants.
The Summer Stargazing event was highly rated for inspiration and relevance to their lives by participants, demonstrating the power of combining cutting-edge research with creative public engagement. Through the partnership between UWE Bristol and RAL Space, young people were able to connect with real-world science, develop their problem-solving skills and perhaps even imagine themselves as the scientists and engineers of the future.
“We had the most amazing experience. We thoroughly enjoyed the whole evening from the lecture to all the stands in the visitor centre and were very impressed how well everything was pitched to engage all levels of scientific background.”
Event participant feedback, courtesy of STFC.
The Science Hunters team are continuing their collaboration with RAL Space at recent and future events at the campus, including Space Explorers Day and Jamboree on the Internet, and the ESA-ECSAT Open Day with support from the European Space Agency.
