Crystals are magic: They make us think about the past and our future, they make us gaze into the sky. They are a beautiful link between our material world and our imagination. Get inspired by watching a simulation of the northern light sky, or explore the scale of the universe, exoplanets and alien worlds. Participate in an interactive magic-science show and see chemistry happen in real-time, learn about luminescence, new materials and light. You can also explore the world of imagination through poetry or enter the lands of fantastic beasts and build your very own dragon. (Astronomy, Art History, Biology, Chemistry, Classics, History, Modern Languages, Physics)
Activities
Bat Science in St Andrews! We are the Neurobiology of Vocal Communication group at the University of St. Andrews, though we are better known as the bat lab! We work with bats to understand vocal learning in mammals at the genetic, neurobiological, and behavioural levels. Come by our stand to learn about bats, what we can learn from them, and how our lab operates!
Chemistry and Light! What do highlighters, tonic water, and your phone screen have in common? Luminescence! Come along and meet scientists from the EZC group, who work on everything colour and light! Discover just how molecules give out light, how we measure colour as researchers, and make some colourful art
Get Hands-On with Chemistry! Kids can get hands-on with practical chemistry experiments where they’ll be able to see chemistry happening in real time! Kids of all ages can use polymers to make alginate worms or play a chemistry-themed board game.
Science is Magic! SHOW A family-friendly magic-science show. In an interactive show, complex scientific ideas will be explored and explained using magic props. Students and families will be entertained and inspired to study/learn more about STEM.
Poetry in Pieces! Ancient texts often come to us in pieces: fragmentary papyri from antiquity, worm-eaten medieval manuscripts, and out-of-context quotations preserved by later authors. As scholars, we look at these fragments as puzzle pieces, as we try to reconstruct the ancient texts based on our knowledge of genre, metre, language, and context. Do you think you can complete a broken Limerick? Guess the missing word from a Haiku? Remember the right Shakespearean words to finish a sonnet? Improve famous poets’ work with your own words? Join us as we explore the world of poetry in pieces!
Historical Dragons: Beowfulf to the Targaryans! Enter the mythical and diverse world of dragons, from the far east to Britain to fantasy worlds. Many types of dragons exist in myth around the world, and their origins are widely speculated about. Come along to learn about these varieties and their origin stories, or make your own cut out dragon!
Spectrum! This demonstration looks at the way light wavelengths split and combine to make different colours. Different elements can produce different colours and can be used to detect the contents of a solution or gas. 3 torches with filters are used to combine colours and split colours to produce interesting results.
Inflatable Mobile Planetarium! Inside the planetarium we project a simulation of the northern night sky and teach young audiences about various objects in space, from the solar system to galaxies and star formation. We describe what it’s like to be an astronomer and talk about the exciting research carried out in St Andrews. We also offer a Q&A session at the end of each show with our astronomers!
Discovering Alien Worlds! In 1990, we only knew of the planets in our own Solar System. Today, the number of planets we’ve discovered is more than 7000! Alien Worlds at the University of St Andrews’ Wardlaw Museum explores exoplanets – planets that are outside our Solar System – and how they have been understood, dreamt of and imagined by scientists, musicians, artists and writers for centuries. Visit our stand to discover more about these fascinating alien worlds.
Designer Quantum Materials Lab tour Have you ever wondered how the materials that power the smartphones of tomorrow are developed? Come and find out how we build up new materials like atomic-scale Lego, and use powerful microscopes to image their atoms and electrons. See the labs, and meet some of the scientists involved on our lab tours of the University’s Centre for Designer Quantum Materials.
Optica Experience Learn about light defraction, florescence, how aeroplanes fly, and how our eyes work at this one-stop shop! Join the student-led Optica team in exploring everything about light and how we see it.
