The Big Bang Fair – London 2013 – Written By You
The Big Bang Fair is the largest celebration of science, technology, engineering and maths for young people in the UK. Everything they do is aimed at showing young people (primarily aged 7-19) just how many exciting and rewarding opportunities there are out there for them with the right experience and qualifications.
Daisy went along to have a look and sent us this great report. The Big Bang Fair is over for this year, but there are other great events planned all around the country.
In March I went with my class to the Big Bang Fair at the ExCel centre in London.
And it certainly was Big. Chances are you were there too as the enormous queue took an hour and a half just to get into the ExCel.
Once inside the cavernous space we were let loose on the Showfloor. The Big Bang Fair is full of interactive stands, activities, workshops and shows. I tested my reaction times on a giant electronic scoreboard, measured my speed and long jump prowess in the Body Talk zone and took fake blood from an arm with the classroom medics.
We even had time to take in a show. In the Capital Hall on the Big Bang stage we saw ‘Cracking the Code: The Genetics of Superheroes’ which explored the idea of using genetics to make us superhuman. We have just started learning about organisms and classification in Biology, so some of the science was quite challenging. But who knows – by the time I finish school, genetic science will have evolved and I might be able to go into the field of researching and creating our first genetically engineered super powered human!
No visit to an exhibition is complete without free stuff!
Health and Beauty Crew
And if you love science and maths but don’t know what you might do with them in the future? Then the Careers Hub was just the place to head to. Here, I answered a series of questions to find out which ‘crew’ I might be in when I look for a job. Based on my answers I matched the Sports Crew and possible careers could be a materials engineer or a sports physiotherapist. You can find out which crew you are in by taking the quiz.
The Big Bang Fair even had the Prime Minister’s endorsement. As we were eating lunch we caught a glimpse of David Cameron rushing past – followed by crowds and camera crews. I hope he enjoyed the day as much as I did and was inspired by the vibrant enthusiasm of the scientists and engineers and the brain boggling activities on offer.
My name is Daisy, I am in Year 7 and my favourite subjects are English, PE and Latin.
Find out what other young visitors thought of the Big Bang Fair on their Website
Writing Competition for Girls – Libby 10 Years
Girls. If you were a person a couple of decades ago you would think of a basically second-class citizen. Despite everything that women have done to try and stop this cultural discrimination we seem to have gone backwards in the past twenty years.
Even now you get the cultural branding ‘Girls cry. Boys don’t.’. Why? Where exactly is the scientific proof, the experiments and evidence?Also the ridiculous beauty products that women are expected to wear. Once more, why? Why is it that women are expected to wear these beauty products and boys are not? It just does not make sense. If it is a once in a while thing on special occasions it is understandable but all of the time! It can also be very damaging to your face, causing some people’s faces to be unable to move.
It is the same with school. A recent survey showed that nearly half of all state schools sent absolutely no girls to do physics A-levels as it was stereotyped a ‘boys’ subject.
In fact in nearly every thing women do there is some sort of restricting thing that stops you doing things, whether it is running around or showing what your face actually looks like.
In modern society you always seem to here about teenage girls of vulnerable age getting pushed around and used… again, why?
Yet despite all of this many women do amazingly well in their careers and lives. In a way this makes all of the great women in the world even more remarkable than the men because they had to overcome the particular obstacles of being born women.
The Olympics has really underlined the fact that this country and every other has just as much female talent as male.
My particular role model is Professor Frances Ashcroft, who found a way for people with a rare type of Diabetes called Neonatal Diabetes to take pills instead of injecting themselves or relying on insulin pumps to give them insulin.
I find it very unfair that, even now you get men controlling women, less chances of education for girls and cultural stereotyping. I think that if we don’t do something now completely equal rights just isn’t going to happen and I really hope that something happens that will show the world anything boys can do girls can do better (no offense boys!)!
Rock, Paper, Scissors… Robot???
The game rock-paper-scissors is well known around the world. We’ve all used it as a choosing method, or simply as a game! The easiest version is played between two people. Both players choose one of the three shapes for one of their hands, and reveal their choice at the same time, hoping their choice beats their opponent.
It’s nearly impossible to gain an advantage over your opponent, unless you wait long enough to identify their choice before you make yours, but the chances are that they will realise your cunning plan and call you a cheater!
This game is not simply a choosing game. There are mathematicians dedicated to constructing algorithms for the best strategy to win, and scientists devoted to creating unbeatable robots! In fact, researchers at the University of Tokyo have created a rock paper scissors robot that wins at rock-paper-scissors 100% of the time.
Water and Engineering – Water, Wonderful Life
