Food, farming and family fun
Investigation, experimentation, exploration were the order of the day when the Edinburgh and South-East Scotland Branch of the BA descended on the Almond Valley Heritage Centre. The recent food, fun and farming family science day certainly brought a lot of excitement and plenty of smiles.
Nigel Over, Chairman of the Branch, commented: “The appetite for science here in West Lothian has been fantastic. Everybody seems to have enjoyed themselves. This is only our second visit to Livingston since the branch started just over a year ago and the support we have received has been great.
“As a branch, we only organise one or two events specifically aimed children during the year. Last year we contributed the Wizards’ Workshop at the West Lothian Family Fun Day for Children with Special Needs which also was very popular. We actually plan to run the Wizards’ Workshop again in March during National Science Week. The food, fun and farming family science day has been our largest event so far, and I am grateful to all those who have come together to make it happen.”
The BA Science Fun with Food Workshops
For once children, both young and old, were encouraged to play with their food and not get told off, all in the name of science. The BA Science Fun with Food is a circus of fun workshop activities using food and other things found in kitchen cupboards.
‘Crazy Custard’ is wonderfully messy. Custard powder doesn’t dissolve in water, so the mixture is solid powder suspended in a liquid. Poking the mixture slowly allows the custard powder to move freely around in the water and the mixture acts like a liquid. However when hitting the custard quickly, the bits of custard powder rub against each other (friction) and stick together, and the mixture starts acting like a solid and your hand remains on the surface.
Other activities on offer included, ‘Swirly Milk’, ‘Raisin Lava Lamps’, ‘Eggstraordinary Eggs’ and inflating balloons with carbon dioxide created from a little bit of vinegar mixed with bicarbonate of soda.
“Do I Eat DNA?”
Yes. Every living thing has DNA. A DNA-tastic time was had as DNA was extracted from fruit whilst Jan Barfoot and her team from the Scottish Institute for Biotechnology Education at the University of Edinburgh, explained the science behind the title.
“Do I eat DNA? is a simple but fun workshop for children. It explores the common misconception that DNA is only present in GM foods or as a chemical. In fact, DNA is all around us and can be found in surprising places. The workshop started with a sorting game, whereby the children sorted objects into things which they thought contained DNA and things which didn’t.
The children then selected a piece of fruit from which to extract the DNA. This colourful procedure involved using fairy liquid, salt and ice cold ethanol. At the end of the experiment the DNA appeared before the children’s eyes and they collected some of it to keep. During the experiment the concepts of cell, nucleus, chromosomes and DNA were explored.
Scottish Agriculture
During the day, scientists and lecturers from the Scottish Agricultural College ran a number of interactive exhibits for children and their parents. ‘Garden Gladiators’, exploring insects under the microscope, proved such a hit that one girl decided that a stick insect would make an ideal pet. Others were quite happy to make up bags of pot-pourri to take home.
Oatridge College offered the challenge of putting a halter on the head of Angus the cow (a soft toy one of course). They also demonstrated the making of wool on the wooden spinning wheel.
Prize Winner
By visiting the Scottish Agriculture exhibits, the Science Fun with Food workshops and ‘Do I Eat DNA?’ Caitlyn McLeod correctly guessed ‘SCIENCE’ in the mystery word hunt. Caitlyn wins a junior microscope set that allows her to continue exploring the world around us.
Nigel Over
Chairman, Edinburgh & SE Scotland Branch
Nigel Over, Chairman of the Branch, commented: “The appetite for science here in West Lothian has been fantastic. Everybody seems to have enjoyed themselves. This is only our second visit to Livingston since the branch started just over a year ago and the support we have received has been great.
“As a branch, we only organise one or two events specifically aimed children during the year. Last year we contributed the Wizards’ Workshop at the West Lothian Family Fun Day for Children with Special Needs which also was very popular. We actually plan to run the Wizards’ Workshop again in March during National Science Week. The food, fun and farming family science day has been our largest event so far, and I am grateful to all those who have come together to make it happen.”
The BA Science Fun with Food Workshops
For once children, both young and old, were encouraged to play with their food and not get told off, all in the name of science. The BA Science Fun with Food is a circus of fun workshop activities using food and other things found in kitchen cupboards.
‘Crazy Custard’ is wonderfully messy. Custard powder doesn’t dissolve in water, so the mixture is solid powder suspended in a liquid. Poking the mixture slowly allows the custard powder to move freely around in the water and the mixture acts like a liquid. However when hitting the custard quickly, the bits of custard powder rub against each other (friction) and stick together, and the mixture starts acting like a solid and your hand remains on the surface.
Other activities on offer included, ‘Swirly Milk’, ‘Raisin Lava Lamps’, ‘Eggstraordinary Eggs’ and inflating balloons with carbon dioxide created from a little bit of vinegar mixed with bicarbonate of soda.
“Do I Eat DNA?”
Yes. Every living thing has DNA. A DNA-tastic time was had as DNA was extracted from fruit whilst Jan Barfoot and her team from the Scottish Institute for Biotechnology Education at the University of Edinburgh, explained the science behind the title.
“Do I eat DNA? is a simple but fun workshop for children. It explores the common misconception that DNA is only present in GM foods or as a chemical. In fact, DNA is all around us and can be found in surprising places. The workshop started with a sorting game, whereby the children sorted objects into things which they thought contained DNA and things which didn’t.
The children then selected a piece of fruit from which to extract the DNA. This colourful procedure involved using fairy liquid, salt and ice cold ethanol. At the end of the experiment the DNA appeared before the children’s eyes and they collected some of it to keep. During the experiment the concepts of cell, nucleus, chromosomes and DNA were explored.
Scottish Agriculture
During the day, scientists and lecturers from the Scottish Agricultural College ran a number of interactive exhibits for children and their parents. ‘Garden Gladiators’, exploring insects under the microscope, proved such a hit that one girl decided that a stick insect would make an ideal pet. Others were quite happy to make up bags of pot-pourri to take home.
Oatridge College offered the challenge of putting a halter on the head of Angus the cow (a soft toy one of course). They also demonstrated the making of wool on the wooden spinning wheel.
Prize Winner
By visiting the Scottish Agriculture exhibits, the Science Fun with Food workshops and ‘Do I Eat DNA?’ Caitlyn McLeod correctly guessed ‘SCIENCE’ in the mystery word hunt. Caitlyn wins a junior microscope set that allows her to continue exploring the world around us.
Nigel Over
Chairman, Edinburgh & SE Scotland Branch
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