College experience for young scientists

Degree students from Cornwall College Newquay have been providing an insight into the exciting world of science for local primary school children. 

Around 140 Year 6 pupils from Newquay Junior Academy attended the ‘Cornwall Science Fair’ event at the College campus as part of British Science Week.

The wide range of interactive science-based activities on offer were all organised and delivered by first-year Foundation Degree students from Cornwall College as part of their Personal and Employability Skills Development (PESD) module.

“Our original inspiration came from the British Science Week theme of discovery. We wanted our watchers to come on the journey with us following a well-known story that maybe people didn't know as well as they thought they did” said student Abigail Farrant, one of the foundation degree students in Wildlife Education & Media who took part in the day’s events.

She continued:  “We hope that everyone who saw our play, adults and the children, get a taste for how education can be so much more than just a day in the class and can take away how there are so many exciting opportunities for learning everywhere you look!”

The ‘Cornwall Science Fair’ ties into a wider initiative of raising aspirations in relation to studying Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) subjects that Cornwall College currently leads.

Throughout the day, the school children took part in a series of short sessions, designed to educate them on a number of different subjects and show them that a white coated scientist working in a lab is just one of many vastly different professions that can result from studying science.

The activities included making a necklace of their own DNA, completing a freshwater invertebrate’s survey from the onsite pond, shaping a surfboard, taking part in a recycling challenge, learning about the marine environment using the college’s virtual reality headsets and experiencing a play put on by the degree students about the lives of celebrated naturalists Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace.

The day culminated in an explosive finale of different outdoor, large-scale science experiments to all of the school children as a group. The series of experiments looked at how to get the most bang for your buck - speeding up the rate of chemical reactions used in rocket propulsion. These included the effect of particle size, state of matter and availability of oxygen on combustion reactions, including demonstration reactions of powder flames, whoosh bottles, coke fountains and elephant’s toothpaste.

For more information on the range of Zoology, Surf and Marine courses available at Cornwall College Newquay visit www.cornwall.ac.uk or call 0330 123 2523.

Smiles and serious messages combine at Spring Fair

It was a weekend of exciting family activities and science-related fun at Cornwall College Newquay’s Spring Charity Fair. 

The College’s annual community event saw hundreds of people flocking to the campus behind Newquay Zoo, for a wide range of fun activities aimed at the whole family. Throughout the day, visitors got up close to animals, had a go on an indo board, had their faces painted, took part in raffles and bought lots of cakes, all in aid of a range of different environmental and conservation charities. 

Programme Manager at Cornwall College Newquay, Brender Willmott, said the students “never cease to amaze me with their creativity and the amount of effort they invest in the awareness raising event that they organise for their chosen charities”. 

“This event offers them a fantastic opportunity to engage with potential future employers and also to bring to the forefront of people’s minds some of the extremely important and difficult issues facing us in terms of conservation, safety, ethical trading and the environment,” she continued.

“I feel really proud to be part of a team of such a caring group of people.”

The event was organised and delivered by higher education students from Cornwall College Newquay as part of their Personal and Employability Skills Development (PESD) module and was designed to either raise funds for, or awareness of a chosen charity.

The students raised just over £1,019 for a range of animal, environmental and zoological conservation causes including Surfers Against Sewage, The Wave Project, Prickles and Paws, Newquay Marine Group, The Shark Trust, Plastic Free Newquay, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, One Wave, St Francis Home for Animals and others. 

In addition to fundraising, the aim of the day was to get the students working together as teams and to put on an event that would make a real difference to the charities they were supporting. As well as event management skills, the students also learnt more about leadership, organisation, marketing and general business.

Student Abigail Farrant, who is studying a foundation degree in Wildlife Education & Media, was one of a group of students performing an educational play during the event, about the lives of celebrated naturalists Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace.

Abigail said: “We all felt the day went really well as we put so much love and time into it. It became our baby and it was amazing to see it come together. We really hope that those who came along left impacted after a day that was fun and full of energy and maybe even learnt a few cool new bits of information that could change the way they think!”

For more information on the range of Zoology, Surf and Marine courses available at Cornwall College Newquay visit www.cornwall.ac.uk or call 0330 123 2523.