Science Cafés

 

An opportunity for students to go deeper into science and contemporary science issues

The Energy Debate Experts from the Univeristy of Bristol and British Energy talk to students about how they think we should generate electricity	Cloning A scientist who worked on Dolly the Sheep answers a students question: "Would you be happy to be cloned?"

The ISSP has been supporting Science Cafes at Wyvern and Gordano Schools. Science Cafes give students the opportunity to listen to professional scientists talk about their area of expertise in a relaxed and informal setting. At the end of the talk students have the opportunity to ask any questions about the subject matter.

The events give students the opportunity to learn about how science works and go deeper into certain areas of science.

November 2009, Wyvern School – Extremophiles

January 2010, Wyvern School – Is Climate Change Real?

February 2010, Gordano School – The Energy Debate

March 2010, Wyvern School – Big Bang Experiments

May 2010, Gordano School – Cloning

July 2010, Gordano School – Synthetic Biology

Students have enjoyed the Cafes, one Gordano student said: “It was great opportunity to find out more about nuclear power and other ways of generating electricity. I never knew biomass was so big in this country.” When asked if he would come again he replied: “Definitely!”

Another student talked about why he enjoyed the cafes: “It’s great fun and I enjoy the relaxed setting.”

This student reflected on the cloning café: ‘This Master Class was definitely about "exploring new ideas, possibilities and solutions". We learned all about cloning and how it can be used to create new organs, how this could be used to make a transplant organ if none were available. We also learned about how technically it is possible to clone someone, and discussed the ethics of this. The cafe halfway through gave it a very informal feel and encouraged discussion about what we had just heard. It also gave me time to think up some questions. Overall I would give this Master Class 8.5 out of 10’