Science outreach – Oxford Science and Ideas Festival 2022
What is science outreach? At Oxford Science and Ideas Festival (IF Oxford), it is captivating curious minds of all ages and backgrounds to access and shape new ideas. This year, the ECG was present in force to get people thinking about environmental pollution.
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The tools of our trade
We ran four fantastic demos including a new activity inspired by recent headlines of sewage overflows in rivers: testing riverwater samples used a portable conductivity meter and various samples. Conductivity measurements establish the ability of water to pass electricity because of the presence of dissolved ions such as sodium, chloride, calcium, and magnesium. Water bodies tend to show a relatively stable conductivity, thus significant changes could indicate a pollution discharge into the aquatic environment. We discussed how clean our rivers were in rural and urban areas and how clean our drinking water is. Discovering that pool water has higher conductivity than river water surprised many, and led to thoughtful discussions about how we can use chemicals to keep environments healthy and unpolluted. |
Sink or float? results: Rubber tree and crayon sank (65% and 90% correct respectively), whilst plastic bag, packing peanut and lid floated
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Introduced earlier this year to the ECG outreach provision was sink or float?, a simple demo using several types of plastic which the public votes on – will it sink or float? This opened discussions about what plastics are made of, and allowed us to measure our meaningful engagements – this time, > 80.
Hunting for microplastics (July 2018 Bulletin p.22 (1)) – comprises of trays filled with soil contaminated with plastic pieces. While it does not sound fancy, kids love routing through the dirt with tweezers and a magnifying glass, and let our volunteers have deeper discussions about soil pollution with parents.
Our ocean acidification (July 2019 Bulletin, p. 22 (2)) demo has been a mainstay of ECG outreach and always draws the crowds. We start off with a slightly alkaline ‘ocean’ and get people thinking about acidity and alkalinity using the pH scale. To simulate increasing CO2 in our atmosphere, we add dry ice. The “smoke” and bubbles get everyone excited – even the adults (and me!) – and makes the Universal Indicator in our ocean change colour from blue to green to yellow, sometimes even to red. This visualises drop in pH, and allows us to explain how ocean acidification causes coral bleaching. Finishing on a negative note, however, is not ideal, and although we have positive climate change stories, we are keen to develop a demonstration about fighting climate change – if you know one, please do get in touch.
Our ocean acidification (July 2019 Bulletin, p. 22 (2)) demo has been a mainstay of ECG outreach and always draws the crowds. We start off with a slightly alkaline ‘ocean’ and get people thinking about acidity and alkalinity using the pH scale. To simulate increasing CO2 in our atmosphere, we add dry ice. The “smoke” and bubbles get everyone excited – even the adults (and me!) – and makes the Universal Indicator in our ocean change colour from blue to green to yellow, sometimes even to red. This visualises drop in pH, and allows us to explain how ocean acidification causes coral bleaching. Finishing on a negative note, however, is not ideal, and although we have positive climate change stories, we are keen to develop a demonstration about fighting climate change – if you know one, please do get in touch.
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The show must go on. A big thanks to the volunteer team. We will be doing more events like this in the future, and we always need volunteers so please do contact me at [email protected]. |
Team: Mark Powders, Rowena Fletcher Wood, Sophia Bahddo,
Laura Alcock, Niall Marsay, Miles Folks.
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