A trio of magical stories from the worlds of science and engineering have been shared with schoolchildren in Cornwall as part of an annual festive tradition. The mystery of how dragonflies reach Christmas Island, the remarkable power of the planet’s wind, and a story of a pufferfish and plastic pollution enraptured the young audience at this year’s Science of Christmas event at the University of Exeter, Cornwall.
Around 170 children travelled to the Penryn campus from five primary schools in the area, including Kennall Vale in Ponsoonoth and Perran-ar-Worthal in Perranwell. Over the course of an hour, they heard from researchers and graduates at the University, who shared with them some planetary wonders with a Christmas twist.
Amy Bray and Maddie Kirby, Exeter graduates from Another Way, delivered their talk titled The Pufferfish who Saved Christmas. Dressed as an inflatable Earth and pufferfish, Amy and Maddie took the children on a journey to identify the hidden plastic culprits at Christmas, and how they can end up in the ocean and break down into microplastics. The children were then able to get hands-on with some potential solutions, including making their own plastic-free glitter, and decorating a Christmas tree with plastic-free, homemade decorations.
“The Science of Christmas has become a proud festive tradition for the University, and it was great to see so many young minds engrossed in this year’s stories,” says Alex Thornton, Professor of Cognitive Evolution in the Centre for Ecology and Conservation. “And these events play an important role in our community and civic engagement, because they bring local children and their teachers onto campus, where they can see and hear for themselves how the knowledge and expertise in our academic community is helping to make a difference in today’s world.”
