The Synapse Team had a fantastic evening yesterday exploring the @Bristol Science Centre in the heart of Bristol, as we attended the centre’s first ever evening event. For those of you who have never been it really is a ‘must see’. With the children all tucked up in bed, we got the chance to fulfil some of our childhood endeavours, creating huge bubbles and Christmas decorations with LED lights, interacting with and occasionally squishing some animated bugs, moving water down a dam, running in a giant hamster wheel and even dressing up as dinosaurs. We were amazed by the tornado tunnel and were proved weak compared to the magnitude of atmospheric pressure.
If that was not enough to keep everyone entertained, there was the extra bonus of a science show in which a Christmas pudding went up in flames. The Planetarium left most of our members star struck as it took students out of the city into the countryside to view and enjoy the autumn night sky in its full glory. Not only did we learn about constellations, but were reminded of a few Greek myths at the same time. Some of us even had a go on ‘animate it’ and I witnessed a few sending their animated videos back to their housemates or even their parents (although they may not admit it). Some were also caught on camera as they enjoyed drawing the Aardman animations.
The human body section kept the majority of us entertained as the evening drew to a close. Members got to have a go at designing proteins, learning about microsatellites and reading through the genetic code of the X chromosome. After eating shortbread shaped like conical flasks and test tubes and enjoying the odd drink, the team finally headed off home in the cold, gazing at the stars, still buzzing with excitement. Thank you so much @Bristol for a wonderful evening, we will be back.
