On January 23rd, we visited the GCSE Science Live! event in Birmingham, in which we saw six scientists each focusing on a different topic.

The event began with Mark Miodownik, who gave a very interesting presentation on recycling and the importance of it, focusing on the use of nanotechnology and its benefits to us in the future.  We then watched Professor Alice Roberts, a clinical anatomist who presented to us the relevance of fossils and the significance of what they can display to us today.  She showed us that by analysing our bone structure and comparing it to other mammals, we can see clear similarities, thus indicating that we all shared a common ancestor.

This was followed by Professor Andrea Sella who performed a fascinating experiment about ice, explaining the importance of pressure in order to change its state.  The physicist Jim Al-Khalili then gave a riveting speech on time travel, which was our personal favourite as he was able to explain such a complex and intriguing concept.  He explored the possibility of time travel using wormholes.  The presentation also tackled the concept of travelling back in time as well as into the future and he gave an interesing insight as to the consequences of doing both.  

Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock finished the day with a very enthusiastic presentation on 'Going to Mars'. She described how and why she wanted to go Mars, explaining how she would go about travelling and creating the costs to fund the trip.

Overall, we all really enjoyed the day, as we were able to learn about new and exciting areas of science which we would perhaps not otherwise have had the chance to do.

Lydia Horton and Harini Jayasinghe, Year 11