On the 10th of March the doors will open to a highly innovative new destination venue on Ramsgate High Street. The commercial unit at number 47, once the home of Boots’ Opticians, will be transformed into an exciting and welcoming community space, where regular interactive workshops delivered by research scientists from the University of Kent will take place over the coming years.
The hands-on workshops will kick off with an event called Light Fantastic, which explores the amazing properties of light. Fittingly, given the venue’s most recent use, the sessions will touch on the fact that light science has many medical applications, such as enabling an examination of people’s eyes. The workshop will be delivered by research scientists and there will be plenty of opportunities to ask them questions about their field, as well as about working in science more generally and routes into different careers.
As with previous Discovery Planet events, the event will be completely free of charge. Schools can book workshop places on Thursday 10th and Friday 11th of March. Members of the community can drop in on Saturday 12th of March on the hour, every hour from 10am to 3pm, which is when the last workshop starts. There is no need for community members to book, but schools can get in touch by contacting Nikki at nikkihildesley@discoveryplanet.co.uk.
Light Fantastic is just the first of a series of monthly workshops taking us through to the Autumn. Between 21st and 23rd of April we will looking at materials for energy storage; 19th to 21st of May we will be observing space with telescopes; 16th to 18th of June we’ll be thinking about meteorites; and from the 7th to the 9th of July we’ll be examining how science can help us explore heritage. Between these dates other University departments and community groups will be invited to deliver additional activities, so you are invited to watch out for information by following Discovery Planet’s various social media accounts or looking out for posters and flyers.
The ‘shop’ opening has been timed to coincide with British Science Week 2022, a ten-day celebration of science, technology, engineering and maths.It is hoped that the Discovery Planet Shop, funded by the Science and Technology Facilities Council, will foster an interest in science among the local population and encourage future generations of scientists and engineers hailing from Thanet to make their mark on the world.
For more information see the Discovery Planet website www.discoveryplanet.co.uk , Facebook: ttps://www.facebook.com/DiscoveryPlanetUK , Twitter: @ScienceSpaceCr8
Discovery Planet: Is an award-winning, Thanet based, Community Interest Company which was set up to animate spaces and bring exciting learning and creative experiences directly to the local community. Since 2014 they have delivered over 20 exciting events with partners such as the University of Kent and QMUL’s Centre of the Cell. They are fortunate to have been funded by institutions such as The Royal Society of Chemistry, Royal Academy of Engineering and UK Space Agency. www.facebook.com/DiscoveryPlanetRamsgate
Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) is part of UK Research and Innovation – the UK body which works in partnership with universities, research organisations, businesses, charities, and government to create the best possible environment for research and innovation to flourish. For more information visit UK Research and Innovation.
STFC funds and supports research in particle and nuclear physics, astronomy, gravitational research and astrophysics, and space science and also operates a network of five national laboratories, including the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory and the Daresbury Laboratory, as well as supporting UK research at a number of international research facilities including CERN, FERMILAB, the ESO telescopes in Chile and many more. Visit https://stfc.ukri.org/ for more information. @STFC_Matters
Physics at the University of Kent:
FB: ttps://www.facebook.com/University-of-Kent-Physics-Astronomy-Space-Science-and-Astrophysics