Hundreds of children from across Torbay had a day of mesmerising experiments following a science spectacular at Brixham College in January.
More than 600 children enjoyed the two-day Wonderstruck science show in January and left amazed and inspired about the wonders of physics and chemistry.
The event saw ear splitting explosions, fire-fuelled bangs, gunpowder, flames and smoke, a 10ft fireball, rocket building sessions, mind expanding science facts, and a demo of a working jet engine within the workshops.
Local primary schools that attended the event, which was supported by the Thinking Schools Academy Trust, included Furzeham Primary School and Nursery, Eden Park Primary School, Roselands Primary School, White Rock Primary School, Brixham Church of England School, St Margret Clitheroe Catholic School, Collation St Mary Primary School, and Galmpton Church of England Primary School.
The event also presented the opportunity to showcase other STEM subjects and make them relevant, fun, and exciting for all ages.
Mark Eager, Principal at Brixham College, said it was brilliant to bring schools from across Torbay together. He said: “We are incredibly proud to deliver an education that challenges, inspires and excites our students so, welcoming Peter from Wonderstruck back to contribute towards this, was an absolute pleasure. We were delighted to have the opportunity to invite our community of primary schools to join us”.
One of the workshops on the day saw children build their own rocket, which was powered by compressed air. They use the same basic principles that send people to the moon, but use the power of air squeezed into a small space instead of a combustion reaction.
Peter Wright, of Wonderstruck, praised Brixham’s warm welcome and said it was good to be back. He said: “It’s always great to come back to Brixham. We’re guaranteed enthusiastic audiences and a really enjoyable event. It’s certainly one that we look forward to. Any event where we get a chance to engage with young people and inspire them to think about the wonder of science and how amazing the Universe around us is worthwhile. The world is facing a lot of challenges at the moment and empowering young people to understand and help to meet those challenges is key to what we do”.
Mandy Gage, the Director of Education at the Thinking Schools Academy Trust for Torbay, praised the team who led the event, saying: “It has been wonderful to see Brixham College holding an event for other schools within the community. At the Thinking Schools Academy Trust, we’re all about transforming life chances of children and young people by inspiring them through many different ways. This Wonderstruck event is a perfect example of our passion to give pupils something to remember and learn from”.
Tom Norman, who is a teacher of Physics but also leads Computer Science at the college, said: “At Brixham College, we are passionate about Science and our community. That’s why we hold the amazing Wonderstruck event to give Year 5 students the opportunity to be wowed by science. Our hope is to ignite a lifelong love of asking questions about the world we live in and to build on the enthusiasm young people have to learn more about the universe.
” One of the highlights of the event is when young people can become rocket scientists for the day. Not only is this a great opportunity for our primary school students to learn outside of the classroom, our Year 7 students engaged with the activities too. After all, it is the experiences we have at school that we remember with fondness, hopefully everybody who has seen Wonderstruck over the last two days will never forget it”.
