Young Scientist Centre

Key Stage 2
Duration: 4 hours
Max Group Size: 32

During this workshop, students will make their own bath bombs and lip balms! The workshop gives students a chance to learn about acids and alkalis whilst experimenting neutralisation reactions and producing their own personalised bath bombs. The students will then investigate the properties of materials and states of matter whilst making their own bespoke lip balm.

This workshop is a great introduction to pH, neutralisation, properties of material and solubility and changes of state.

Key stage 2
Duration: 4 hours
Max Group Size: 32

This workshop takes students on a journey through the solar system. They will investigate the Sun and the planets, learning about size, distance and learn the concepts of day, month and year. Through experimentation, students will discover the conditions on each of the planets and their implications for human space exploration. The second half of the workshop focuses on the determination of the relative gravity on Earth, Moon, Mars, Venus and Jupiter using Newton meters. This engaging workshop blends Biology, Physics and Chemistry to explore our Solar system.

Key stage 2
Duration: 3 hours
Max Group Size: 32

Students will try to answer the question ‘What is colour?’ through experimentation. They will investigate how light behaves and how our eyes detect colour. Students will then use separation (centrifugation and chromatography) to investigate various dyes.  During the workshop, students will make their own natural dyes using berries and algae, and dye multi-fibre cloths they can take home. Finally, students will get a chance to use microscopes to observe the algae they used to make the dyes. This workshop is a good introduction to separation techniques and light.

Upper Key Stage 2
Duration 4 hours
Max Group Size: 32

Students are tasked with the mission of investigating the surface of Mars. During the workshop, students will learn to program LEGO Mindstorms robotic rovers, plan and program their rover’s route across the YSC’s model of the Mars surface.

The students use teamwork, maths and programming to successfully navigate the Mars model.

Key stage 2
Duration 4 hours
Max Group size: 32

In this workshop, students will students will learn about all about electricity. They will draw and make series and parallel circuits and then add in switches and buzzers. The students will carry out circuit and voltage testing using power packs, batteries and voltmeters and explore conductivity. In the second half of the workshop, students will be set challenges to apply their knowledge of circuits. This is a fun workshop exploring electricity through a series of experiments and demonstrations using equipment usually found at high school level.

Key Stage 2 and 3
Duration: 2 hours
Max Group Size: 32

This workshop is designed for students between the ages of 9 and 14 years old. Students will extract their own DNA and walk away with a small piece of it in a necklace for them to wear. Students will also get a chance to see where their DNA has come from by staining their cheek cells and view them under the microscope. This workshop is a great introduction to DNA, genes and inheritance.

Key Stage 2 and 3
Duration: 2 hours
Max Group Size: 30

This workshop is designed for students between the ages of 9 and 14 years old. Students will extract their own DNA and walk away with a small piece of it in a necklace for them to wear. Students will also get a chance to see where their DNA has come from by staining their cheek cells and view them under the microscope.

This workshop is a great introduction to DNA, genes and inheritance.

Key Stage: 3 and 4
Duration: 4 hours
Max Group Size: 30

During this workshop, students get to experience what it would be like to work in a forensics lab investigating a fictional murder. They will evaluate the crime scene and suspect DNA samples using fibre analysis and modern molecular biological techniques including restriction digests and gel electrophoresis. This workshop is a great introduction to genetics and forensic analysis and can be adapted for higher ability groups.to include ink analysis by TLC chromatography.

Key Stage 3 and 4
Duration 4 hours
Max Group Size: 30

Students will investigate why fish in a local river are dying by analysing water samples for nitrate levels, detecting metal ions, microbe-content and pH. This session focuses on how science works, with students making and testing predictions. Students will get a chance to use equipment usually found at university level, including micro-pipettes and colorimeters. In the session students learn new techniques, enjoy independent investigation and use data interpretation to draw their own conclusions about a common environmental issue.

Key Stage 3 and 4
Duration 4 hours
Max Group Size: 30

In this workshop, students learn how to program LEGO Mindstorms robotic rovers and they will plan and execute a route across YSC’s model of the Mars surface. The students use teamwork, maths and programming to successfully navigate and ‘drill’ Mars for soil samples. In the second half of the workshop, the students will look for chemical signs of life in Mars soil samples.

This workshop has strong links with current research and space missions.

Key Stage 3 and 4
Duration 4 hours
Max Group Size: 30

In this workshop, students will learn all about electro-magnetism through experimentation. Students will make an electro-magnet, homopolar motor, Westminster motor and a sound speaker. They will get a chance to learn about current research with demonstrations motors and levitating magnets that are super-cooled using liquid nitrogen.

This workshop is suitable for high-ability Year 9 but can be adapted for a mixed group.

Key Stage 4 and 5
Duration: 4 hours
Max group size: 20

In this workshop students will discover what a colour actually is, understand how objects become coloured through their interaction with light, and how Chemists can manipulate these aspects to produce both natural and synthetic dyes. The students then discover how chemical bonding can lead to colour, and they produce both a natural and synthetic dye. The final part of the workshop pitches the students against a ‘real-life’ analytical chemistry scenario during which they will devise their own experiment using aspects of pH and colourimetry to solve a colourful problem.

Key Stage 5
Duration: 5 hours
Max group size: 20

In this genetics workshop, students will extract and test their own DNA using modern molecular biological techniques to compare their phenotype with their genotype. The workshop demonstrates evolution and genetic diversity by analysing the students’ ability to taste phenylthiocarbamide (PTC), a chemical found in vegetables such as sprouts and broccoli. The students will perform in real time a polymerase chain reaction (PCR), restriction digests and gel electrophoresis in the analysis of their own DNA.