SERC Welcomes Local Schools for NI Science Festival

As part of the NI Science Festival, South Eastern Regional College (SERC) recently welcomed local school pupils from across the south eastern region to the Bangor, Downpatrick and Lisburn campuses to showcase the wonders of . 

Pupils from St. Patrick’s Primary School Legamaddy, Crawfordburn Primary School, Fort Hill Primary School, Wallace High School, Laurelhill Community College, Bangor Academy and Dromore High school attended to participate in workshops on areas which focused on animal behaviours, epidemiological investigation and rocket launches. 

‘Patient zero’ saw students undertake an epidemiologist search for a patient zero modelling how the outbreak of the imaginary deadly “SERC VI VIRUS” was spreading. Each Student was given a sample of simulated body fluid and asked to test their sample to determine the infection rate.

‘Pawsitive Behaviour’ saw students learn how to recognise facial expressions and body language in different types of animals. Students learned how to recognise these behaviours and warning signs to help to reduce trigger stacking in animals by introducing them to situations to help to reduce stress.

Finally, ‘To Infinity and Beyond’ tasked students with designing and building a rocket to fly the furthest, taking into consideration aerodynamics. Students were then asked to design a thermal protection system for a rocket which included testing and evaluating their design.

Collette Carson, SERC Head of School for the School of Applied Science, Sport and Access to Education said, “This was an exciting opportunity for local school students to experience what it’s like to be a scientist by conducting a variety of experiments as well as experiencing what life is like at SERC.I hope they all had a great time and look forward to seeing them enrolling on a course at SERC in the future.”