Techniquest

Community Engagement Officer Ana-Mah took Techniquest on tour in May, hosting free science workshops over three days during half-term.

CREST, or Creativity in Science and Technology, is a nationwide award scheme run nationally by the British Science Association with the aim of enriching STEM learning for the next generation.

More than 20 pupils — all refugees aged 7–11 — completed eight different experiments at Oasis Cardiff, a community centre located in Splott.

On Tuesday, the children learned about structural integrity, and were tasked with building a bridge using paper that could support the weight of classroom items.

Forensics and fingerprints were on the agenda Thursday morning, and they discussed all things dinosaurs and fossils in the afternoon.

And Ana-Mah was also joined by Joanne Watkins — a senior biomedical scientist from the Pathogen Genomics Unit (PenGU) for Public Health Wales — to discuss her career in microbiology and her research during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Finally, they ended with a bang on Friday, creating their own bath bombs to take home along with their UCAS-recognised CREST certificate signifying their participation and new-found knowledge.

We would like to thank Oasis for allowing us the space to deliver the workshops, and CREST for offering the certificates to the pupils.