Families gathered at the Belmont Hut in Belmont Park, Exeter, to take part in a Budding Scientists event run by The Carousel Project as part of National Science & Engineering Week.
The project is a social enterprise run in Exeter, which aims to provide creative experiences for young children to help them become more interested in the arts, the environment and the outdoors. At this particular event, where the theme was 'Invention and Discovery', children were encouraged to find out more about the natural world through arts and crafts and experiments led by the organisers and by parents.
The children took part in visual experiments using water and colours to see how plants drink, played in a 'materials area' where they were able to explore everyday objects and discovered where seeds were on different vegetables, as well as learning about different parts of plants through movement and looking at worms in a wormery. The experience provided a rare opportunity for parents to be active in their childrens' learning, with a central aim of introducing the children to a scientific approach through a series of enjoyable and creative activities.
Parents gave increcdibly positive feedback at the end of the event, stating that; "[It was] Great to see science accessible for young people. Well thought out range of visually attractive activities covering a variety of scientific principles. More please." and "Really well run day interesting on lots of levels – 1 1/2, 3 1/2 & 46! A wonderfully relaxed informal atmosphere where kids and parents felt free to experiment." Overall the event was a success and children, parents and organisers alike had a lot of fun in the process.
The children took part in visual experiments using water and colours to see how plants drink, played in a 'materials area' where they were able to explore everyday objects and discovered where seeds were on different vegetables, as well as learning about different parts of plants through movement and looking at worms in a wormery. The experience provided a rare opportunity for parents to be active in their childrens' learning, with a central aim of introducing the children to a scientific approach through a series of enjoyable and creative activities.
Parents gave increcdibly positive feedback at the end of the event, stating that; "[It was] Great to see science accessible for young people. Well thought out range of visually attractive activities covering a variety of scientific principles. More please." and "Really well run day interesting on lots of levels – 1 1/2, 3 1/2 & 46! A wonderfully relaxed informal atmosphere where kids and parents felt free to experiment." Overall the event was a success and children, parents and organisers alike had a lot of fun in the process.
