News

Once in a while Dunn School researchers get the opportunity to get out the lab and into the community to bring science to the masses – explaining the importance of their research and inspiring the next generation of young scientists.

Many youngsters are wowed by what they see and hear but the funniest comment of the year to date comes from a girl following ‘Science Saturday’ at the Museum of Natural History in Oxford in January: ‘’I’m not sure whether I want to be a scientist or a normal person!’’

Here is a round up of some of our activities:

Delivering workshops and presentations:

• The discovery of microbes (disease causing bacteria) and how work at the Dunn School led to the development of penicillin was explained to children at the Elmwood Primary School in Middleton by members of the Tang lab in January.
• Dr Sue Mei Tan-Wong from the Proudfoot group delivered two workshops at St Nicholas Primary School in Old Marston in Oxford on 18th March
• Metta Pratt from the Raff group led a DNA workshop for ‘A’ level students at the Museum of Natural History on 10th and 11th March.
• Vaccines and infectious disease was the subject of a workshop facilitated by Patty Sachamitr (from the Fairchild group) at the Natural History Museum, Oxford for GCSE and A level students on 6th March. The day showcased cutting edge research in the fields of vaccination and global infectious diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis and Ebola. It gave partcipants an opportunity to discuss and debate new development in vaccines and learn about how the immune system responds to infection. It was also a chance for the school children to hear about different career paths in science. 

Speaking at conferences:

• Group Leader Bass Hassan communicated new advances in sarcoma research to clinicians and patients at the British Sarcoma Group conference in London on 26th February.

Doing guided museum tours: 

• ‘Science Saturday’s’ at the Museum of Natural History in Oxford include activities on entomology, zoology, mineralogy and geology for children aged eight plus. Karla Feijis from the Ahel group acts as a guide on a regular basis.

Facilitating events:

• Patty Sachmitr acted as an ambassador and facilitator to support the public debate ‘Is there a right diet for you?’ an Oxfordshire Science Festival event held at St Helen & St Katherine School in Abingdon on 20th March. 

Launching competitions:

• The Dunn School Art Prize is helping build a bridge between the worlds of art and science in collaboration with Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art.
• The Dunn School essay writing competition is engaging the minds of sixth form students to consider global health challenges.