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Age guideline 4-7, 7-11
About the event
Calling all young scientists and engineers! Come and meet not one, but two super scientists - physicist and trailblazing campaigner for equality in science, Dr Jess Wade and scientist and TV presenter Dr Shini Somara.
Ever thought about what your pen is made from and how it is made? Do you know what an algorithm is? Ever wondered whether a robot could be instructed to walk a dog?
Jess and Shini invite you into the fascinating world of science to tell us why they love the lab so much, as well as giving us some exciting ideas to try out our very own science experiments at home such as writing with invisible ink and building your own kaleidoscope!
This event will be followed by a live Q&A. You can think of some questions in advance or as you watch the event.
Buy the Book here: A Coder like Me - Dr. Shini Somara
The Spectacular Science of the Very (Very) Small - Dr.Jess Wade
How to access the event
From 1 January 2022, this event will move to our collection of Past Event Videos where you can access all past festival events for a small one-off fee of £5. Go to the top of the page to view Past Event Videos. Please click here to sign up or log in if you are already a member.
Teacher Resources
In this event Dr Jess Wade and Dr Shini Somara talk to us about their jobs as scientists, engineers and storytellers. Shini also shows us an experiment which you can try at home or in the classroom - you will need a hairdryer and a ping pong ball. The experiment demonstrates forces, gravity and air resistance.
Link this event to Science topics on the properties of materials, exploring solids, liquids and gases and the particular uses of everyday materials. The event also explores how people create new materials and delves into the science behind this.
The event also explores scientific thinking and the skills needed to be a good scientist. It promotes the importance of asking questions, using mistakes and collaborating with others to gain better understanding.
Link this event and Dr Shini Somara’s books to DT themes and connect them to real world jobs and applications.
Use this event to explore non-fiction texts, and the characteristics of non-fiction writing, look at how the language is used, and how a book is structured when it is explaining a complex part of the world.
Link the event to Reading for Pleasure and the motivation to read by celebrating what we enjoy about non-fiction and why it's important to read a wide range of books.
About the Author
Dr Jess Wade fights to make science accessible for all. She is most well-known for spear-heading a project to get female scientists onto Wikipedia which was widely covered in the media. Jess spent two years creating entries for women and people of colour working in science. She also launched a crowdfunder to get a copy of Angela Saini’s book Inferior into every school in the UK and visited hundreds of schools to champion science as a career for everyone. She is an award-winning physicist specialising in plastic electronics, working at Imperial College London. She won the Early Career Physics Communicator Award for outreach and the Jocelyn Bell Burnell Award for her outstanding research and widely covered activism.
Dr. Shini Somara is a Mechanical Engineer & Fluid Dynamicist turned TV presenter, Children's Book Author, Podcaster, TEDx Speaker and Mentor to MEng/PhDs; who is passionate about making science & technology accessible to all.
Twitter: @jesswade | @shinisomara
Instagram: @jessjess1988 | @drshinisomara
Facebook: drshinisomara
Website: http://www.drshinisomara.com/
About the festival partner
This event has been programmed by Bath Children’s Literature Festival.
Bath Festivals is a charity that brings you the Bath Children’s Literature Festival, Europe’s largest dedicated children’s literature festival with a vibrant array of talks and activities for children. They are also responsible for The Bath Festival in the summer which bring the city alive with a celebration of music and books in the beautiful venues and spaces of the world heritage city. By creating innovative and diverse programmes, their festivals inspire and provide unique experiences for residents and visitors to Bath and surrounding areas. Their year-round creative learning programme of hands-on music and literature projects gives children and young people opportunities to gain real-world experience, building their inner confidence and improving communication skills through the arts.