On the 5th of December, year 10 went on a trip to the Warwick Arts Centre in Coventry to watch a series of science lectures, ranging from Saturn and its rings to the earliest stages of life. Our day started with a talk from Helen Pilcher who told us about de-extinction, a science that looks at the possibility of extinct species becoming alive once again. We learnt about scientists who are using DNA and stem cells as well as a gene editing tool called the Crispr and how long DNA can potentially survive. This followed with a talk from Professor Robert Winston who spoke to us about the early stages of life and the breakthroughs in stem cell research and use. We heard about scientists who have found ways to separate cells in a embryo without damaging the structure.
After a break, we heard from Sheila Kanani from the Royal Astronomical Society who spoke to us about the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft. She told us about the discoveries scientists were able to make about Saturn because of this spacecraft, including the discovery that there are over 60 moons of Saturn and how each of them are completely different. We learnt that before the end of the mission in September 2017, the equipment had been in space for almost twenty years! She showed us some amazing photos that the spacecraft had taken of Saturn, its moons and a picture of our moon from Saturn. After this, we watched a presentation on how to make revision more successful using different techniques.
We then had a lunch break, and after this break we had a series of demonstrations from Stephen Ashworth, entitled ‘kitchen chemistry.’ He showed us how different chemicals that most people have in their homes can be used in different ways. Finally, Marty Jopson spoke to us about how mathematical equations can apply to real life situations. We learnt that the crack of a whip is faster than the speed of sound because of a huge build up of energy. We saw some amazing demonstrations throughout this presentation including the burning of hydrogen and Marty burning some cellulose on his hand.
The day as a whole was really interesting and it was amazing to see how science can be used in such a variety of ways.