This year the Cavendish will host the 25th annual Physics at Work Exhibition in Cambridge.

The primary aim of this exhibition is to stimulate interest and encourage wider participation in physics amongst 14-16 year olds by showcasing the many and varied ways in which physics is used in the real everyday world.

The exhibition is based upon interaction between active scientific researchers and potential scientists. This will help to spread the excitement of modern physics research to students who will soon be making career and examination choices, and is a vital component in encouraging the next generation of scientists.

The Physics at Work Exhibition runs over three days, with two sessions on each day. This event is centred around approximately 20 exhibitors, and is held at the Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge. Some of the exhibitors are from Research Groups within the Cavendish Laboratory and the others are from industry, including companies such as Ford, Domino Printing Services and The Technology Partnership.

Each half-day session has a capacity for about 350 students. The students are split into small groups of about 15 and each small group is accompanied by a teacher as they follow a route defined by the organisers. Each small group, with its teacher, visits six exhibits over a period of about three hours, including a short break halfway through. Each exhibit usually consists of a short presentation, practical demonstrations, an opportunity for hands-on involvement and time for asking questions. A booklet of information is provided to support the exhibition, allowing teachers to bring ideas back into their lessons later in the year. This structured approach has developed over time and allows the students to engage thoroughly with the science on display.

Bookings for this event open on Monday 11th May 2009. If you would like to share this experience with a group of your students please complete the online booking form.

The Physics at Work Exhibition is an integral part of the Cavendish Laboratory's Aspiration Raising activities, funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England.

This event is also supported by:

The Cavendish Laboratory
The Institute of Physics East Anglia Branch
The Institute of Physics Education Department
EPSRC through the outreach programme of the
Condensed Matter Theory Portfolio Partnership and the
Novel Quantum Order in Interacting Electron Metals Portfolio Partnership
Carrack Measurement Technologies
Goodfellow Metals
The Technology Partnership

It would not be possible to run this event the active participation of the exhibitors and the technical and support staff of the Cavendish Laboratory. We would like to take this opportunity to thank them again for all the time and effort that they have given to the Physics at Work 2009 Exhibition.