Pupils embraced British Science Week with a series of exciting, inspiring and eye-opening events at Benenden School.
Over four days, Benenden hosted expert guest speakers, presentations from students, a panel discussion and numerous experiments. It was all part of British Science Week, an annual nationwide celebrate of the STEM subjects – Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths.
Headmistress Samantha Price said: “This was a wonderful week of events which perfectly showcased the varied array of careers that Science subjects can lead to.
“The younger girls had a great deal of fun and, crucially, were inspired by some of the remarkable research projects that are being led by our older students.
“Well done to everyone involved, especially the fantastic STEM Ambassadors who are inspiring the next generation of female scientists.”
Events kicked off on Monday with some fantastic presentations by a series of Benenden girls as part of a Benenden Research Soiree. Girls talked about genetic engineering, green batteries, green food, space research, colloidal stability, and PTSD and the brain – a wonderful set of talks on the wide range of student-led research projects currently underway.
On Tuesday we were very lucky to be visited by Dr Emily Grossman, a science communicator who is a panellist on the Sky One show Duck Quacks Don’t Echo. She gave a fascinating and inspiring talk on how we can face up to and address climate change.
On Wednesday Terri Duhon, who holds numerous notable roles at investment businesses, spoke about how Science and Maths inspired her.
On Thursday the girls took centre stage as our STEM Ambassadors – a group of pupils whose task is to inspire younger girls into science subjects – led a demonstration of experiments in the Science Quad.
The experiments ranged across the sciences and technology and included dissections, explosions, levitations and modelling uncontrolled fission reactions – everything to excite and amaze at the wonderful world of STEM!
Benenden’s Science Week drew to a close on Thursday night when a number of esteemed guests – among them a neuropsychologist, Artificial Intelligence specialist, mechanical engineer and pyrotechnics specialist – joined a panel discussion about women in science and engineering. It rounded off a thoroughly enjoyable, entertaining and informative week.
