Science Bazaar

New this year, Oxford Brookes will be hosting a series of monthly, FREE, 1-hour, interactive, virtual events in collaboration with Bright Sparks Science CIC! Get ready to learn, play, build, experiment and discover! The sessions are fun for all the family and most suitable for 5-12 years. Registration is required for the events, see booking details below. Stay up to date with Science Bazaar Saturdays by following us on Twitter @ScienceBazaar and you can email us at sciencebazaar@brookes.ac.uk if you have any questions. We look forward to seeing you there! 

Join Bright Sparks Science and Oxford Brookes microbiologist Dr Hee-Jeon Hong to learn about diseases and how our bodies battle them. As well as exploring antibiotic resistance!

If you missed this session, don't worry, you can still learn about antibiotic resistance in this fun leaflet!

If you missed our Mini Science Bazaar Special, you can still have a go at making sherbet, a bath bomb and SLIME by either watching the session recording or following the instructions below.

The Green Room Collective is coming to Science Bazaar Saturdays for a street dance workshop! All workshops boost self-esteem, build community and celebrate creativity. Join us to experience awesome levels of funk, soul & groove with authentic street dance styles that keep it real; social, upbeat, fun & fresh! Styles include Hip Hop, Breaking, Locking, House.

You will work on grooves and foundational moves whilst raising awareness of the vibrant history and culture of street dance, before creating a short combination (routine) and finishing on a soulful freestyle high! Come and have some fun!

Join The Green Room Collective for a blues-busting, ‘Funk Factory’ family disco which is suitable for ALL AGES - kids to teens to ‘grown-ups’ & grannies - so gather together and enjoy generations of groove! Request your favourite tunes and give us your dedications and shout-outs to friends and family through our online 'Funk Factory' form!

Party playlist including:

• Freestyle Bangers
• Karaoke Classics
• Rave to your Fave
• Dedications & Shout Outs!
• Live Chat
• Good Vibes Only!

Have you ever wondered what happens to your body when you exercise? Join Bright Sparks Science to discover more about movement and the circulatory system! Also find out about an amazing project (FORTEe) conducted by Oxford Brookes researchers Dr Kim Straun, Stan Windsor and Hayley Marriott, which showcases the health benefits of exercise. FORTEe is set to be the world’s largest study into the effects of exercise on the successful treatment of children with cancer.

Have you ever wondered how scientists take pictures of the internal cell structures such as mitochondria or the nucleus? Or how scientists look at small particles like ribosomes and viruses?

In this session, a scientist will show how electrons can be blasted onto cells to generate the most incredible pictures of the cell’s interior. You will find out how tissues and cells can be prepared for imaging at the smallest possible scale. We will then look at cells together in the huge transmission electron microscope, the mighty magnifier used to look at the tiniest things!

Session structure:

1. General explanation about how transmission electron microscopy works, with simple diagrams or models.
2. Getting from live tissues/cells to sections on a TEM grid – simple explanation of the chemistry required, resin embedding and sectioning, showing blocks with embedded cells, a diamond knife and the TEM grid down the stereoscope.
3. Imaging session showing how to insert samples into the microscope while keeping vacuum, then imaging a sample of gut tissue. Showing different organelles and structures, with brief explanations. Opportunity for questions.  

Oxford Brookes Centre for Bioimaging

Join Oxford Brookes microscope specialists Dr Flavia Moreira-Leite and Ed Rea live from light microscopes in the Oxford Brookes Centre for Bioimaging to explore the tiny details in plant leaves and flowers that you can’t see by eye. Be sure to watch out for little creatures lurking between the leaves!

Join Bright Sparks Science in performing egg-citing experiments with eggs and learning about oviparous and viviparous animals. Eggs-plore what happens inside a butterfly egg by making a flip book in a resource developed by Oxford Brookes researcher Dr Casper Breuker and UKCEH scientist Dr Melanie Gibbs as part of their project Butterflies Under Pressure.

Can you teach robots how to behave themselves? Can they learn that it's not good to tell lies or to be mean to someone? Join Oxford Brookes researchers Professor Nigel Crook (robotics and AI) and Dr Matthias Rolf (robotics and machine learning) Dr Mark Cain (philosophy) in a special Science Bazaar Saturday collaboration with Oxford Brookes Think Human Festival.

Join Bright Sparks Science to explore the importance of recycling, why plants are vital for life and discover how Oxford Brookes researcher Dr Verena Kriechbaumer uses plants in her work!

Have you ever wondered how bubbles are made? Join Bright Sparks Science to explore bubbles and surface tension! As well as learning the importance of hand washing with Oxford Brookes researcher Dr Mamdooh Alzyood.

Join Bright Sparks Science to investigate the energetic and invisible world of gases!