Physics At Work 2002

The Physics at Work exhibition runs over three days, with two sessions on each day. This event is centred around approximately 20 exhibitors. Some of the exhibitors are from Research Groups within the Cavendish Laboratory and the others are from industry, including companies such as Domino, Ford and The Technology Partnership. Each exhibitor is allocated a stand in a suitable part of the Cavendish laboratory, with most being in the undergraduate teaching laboratories.

Each half-day session has a capacity for about 350 pupils. The pupils are split into groups of about 18 and then follow a route defined by the organisers. Each group, with its teacher, visits six exhibitors over a period of about two hours, including a short break halfway through. Each visit usually consists of a short presentation, including practical demonstrations, an opportunity for hands-on involvement and time for asking questions. There is often a handout to support the visit, which allows teachers to bring ideas back into their lessons later in the year. This structured approach has developed over time and allows the pupils to engage thoroughly with the science on display.

This year, 1798 pupils visited the Physics at Work exhibition, accompanied by about 120 teachers. This event is the biggest activity mounted by the University for school pupils outside science week. Whilst the majority of the pupils come from schools close to Cambridge, we also had visitors from further away, including Oundle, Kettering, Mildenhall and Norwich.