Bath Taps 2012

Science into Society

Please see the National HE STEM Programme website for a report and a brief video of the 2011 Bath Taps event!

Wednesday

At the last minute, the lecture was saved by our own Professor Chris Budd stepping in to give what turned out to be a wonderful entertaining look at Maths all around us. Chris took us to the Zoo, and we were shown many different examples of the maths used to solve problems for the animals. Even his pet dog helped us to see the maths all around us! So, in ‘Maths in and out of the Zoo’ Chris used photos, animations and explanations to answer the inevitable question – ‘what’s maths got to do with it?’ in a range of amusing and surprising ways!

Friday

Saw yet another busy schools focused day with a record number of pupils attending – over 800 throughout the day! Coach loads arrived from pre-school to teenagers and all the stall holders were kept busy at their hands-on stalls all day.

The Founders Hall was filled with a huge array of all the sciences for the children to explore.

All visiting children were given a yellow ‘Bath Taps into Science’ bug to look after and/or wear and a guide to the stalls to set off into the hall with. The stalls were set up to be ‘hands on’ and to cater for children and adults of all ages, covering all aspects of maths and science. From telescopes and stars, to maths puzzles and challenges, from becoming a bee keeper to digging up a dinosaur bone, kitchen chemistry to giant bubbles – so much to see and do!

A popular stall this year was Mark Greco and his bees – not only did children get to see live bees and learn about their habitat and life cycles, they also got to taste honey and dress up as a bee keeper! There were ‘ghosts and ghouls’ presenting maths puzzles and challenges and even ‘Buzz Lightyear’ came along to help! We also had a stall celebrating the history of the computer in this the centenary year of Alan Turing and the competition to design and describe a computer of the future brought many entries. Our own Professor James Davenport was given the task of picking a winner from the interesting and exciting designs!

Stalls were run by students from Bath and other universities, pupils from primary and secondary schools both local and international, societies and organisations both local and further afield – Calcast STEM Outreach came from the Waterford Institute in Ireland with a range of activities taken from their own maths week events.

Several of the stalls were a bit on the messy side, such as the infamous ‘slime stall’ and these typically drew groups of children to them almost like magnets… keeping the stall holders busy and the children engrossed.

Professor Chris Budd showed our VIP guest, Professor Bernie Morley, VC for Teaching and Learning, around the hall, and he enjoyed it so much he came back the next day to bring his own young children along!

Saturday

On the Saturday we did it all again, this time at Green Park Station in Bath, for the public, families and shoppers alike. Although we can only squeeze in fewer stalls on the Saturday, we still had lots to do and see and entertain those coming to the event as well as ‘passers-by’. A lovely sunny day and a very busy one indeed, all day long. Mid way through, we were visited by The Right Worshipful The Mayor of Bath Councillor Bryan Chalker and his wife the Mayoress Mrs Glenys Chalker and again Professor Budd was their guide. The Mayoress particulary enjoyed having her reflexes tested at the ‘meet a medic’ stall!

We had a new event this year – Great Caper Morris came along to do a morris dancing workshop which showed the maths involved in the patterns and repeats of morris dancing and this proved so popular we hope to have them come again next year! Perhaps we will also be able to combine a Flamenco workshop utilising the expertise of the Spanish staff who accompany their pupils from Colegio de los Abetos, Madrid, who present the volcano stall!

Bath Taps Into Science is only possible thanks to the dedication, hard work and enthusiasm of its volunteers and we would like to thank all those who participated this year. Huge thanks also go to the visitors and schools for attending and for the British Science Association, HE STEM, the University of Bath and Science City Bristol for their financial support. As usual, we also wish to thank Thring Townsend Solicitors for their support in kind.