Researchers from across the Faculty of Science and Technology represented the University at the hugely successful Campus in the City event on 11^th and 12^th April, with ten activities from across five departments.

Academics from the Departments of Chemistry, Psychology, Physics, LEC, and the School of Engineering teamed up with the Stakeholder Relations team and other cross-faculty academics to deliver a two-day festival celebrating the research that is undertaken across the University. Aimed primarily at school-aged children and their families, the ambition of the event was to bring the work of the University to the local community in a fun and accessible manner. Campus in the City has been running across Lancaster and Morecambe since 2014, making a return in 2024 after a break during the COVID pandemic.

Day one took place on Friday 11^th April at More Music in Morecambe, and saw a Physics Fiesta delivered by student ambassadors and academics and included the ever-popular Liquid Nitrogen Show and Gravity Well, situated outside in the quad.

Dr Lingxin Meng of the Physics Department performing the Liquid Nitrogen Show. Credit: Robin Zahler

Meanwhile, Dr Alice Milne and a contingent of PhD students from Psychology delved into the hearing brain with “Sound Superpowers”, whilst Dr Andrew Parker of the School of Engineering brought his interactive “Lightsabre in a Jar” activity, which encouraged children to learn about the energy of light. Dr Milne’s PhD student, Nez Sharp, found the day particularly enjoyable, commenting: “I found Campus in the City to be great fun; it was lovely engaging with families and sharing what I’m passionate about - the brain! Everyone was super interested and friendly, and the day was well organised.”

Nez Sharp, Dr Adam Attaheri, Dr Alice Milne and John Oyewole at the “Sound Superpowers” exhibit

The second day of the event took place on Saturday 12^th April at The Storey in Lancaster city centre and proved equally popular with the public. Representing the Faculty on the Saturday were Drs Sophie Rawnsley-Lau, Maria Paz Munoz-Herranz, Luis Pinho and Yan Zhang of the Chemistry Department, who showcased three separate exhibits: “The Great Cholesterol and Artery Challenge”, “Power Up with Penny Batteries” and “What’s the Hype About Hydrogen”. LEC PhD student Kathryn Miller brought along a whole host of cooking equipment for her exhibit entitled “Whisk Away Pollution”, which saw children getting the opportunity to explore pollution in the home – whilst getting messy with a fun coaster painting activity.

Dr Munoz-Herranz said of Chemistry’s contributions: “It was great to increase the offering on the chemistry experiments brought to the fantastic event this year. We not only enjoyed making batteries and windmills with the little ones and talking about energy production and storage with the grownups, but we also had fun with a new activity around the good and bad cholesterol, closing the gap between chemistry, biology and health.” Dr Pinho added: “Campus in the City gave us a great opportunity to show the fantastic Sustainable Energy research we do to the public. This year I trialled some new activities, which I hope will spark the interest of under-represented audiences in the technologies that relate to my research!”

Clockwise: Dr Sophie Rawnsley-Lau, Dr Luis Pinho, Kathryn Miller, Dr Yan Zheng and Dr Paz Munoz-Herranz. Credit: Robin Zehler

Physics returned on the Saturday with more physics-based fun in the form of a Van Der Graaf Generator and a badge making activity, whilst Psychology contributed three additional exhibits for the weekend: the “Eye-Spy Video Game”, the “Is it Real?” fake object detection game and a VR experience in the “Imagination Cave”.

Both days were packed to the brim with activities and visitors. Over the course of the two days, Campus in the City saw 630 members of the public come along and engage with the researchers and their exhibits. On the success of the day, organiser of Campus in the City Bethan Marriott said: “There were so many incredible activities on offer from FST at Campus in the City, giving families a chance to do everything from creating a lightsabre in a glass to having their hair stand on end with our physicists! The range and creativity of activities showcased the breadth of research happening at Lancaster University and definitely encouraged some young scientists of the future. The turnout on both days surpassed our expectations, the atmosphere was fantastic, and the feedback from visitors has shown just how much they enjoyed both the activities and their interactions with the researchers.”