Discovery Zone
Event details
Join us for some family fun as we spark children’s imaginations with a range of hands-on, interactive activities. Meet robots, have fun with numbers and get crafty decorating a brain hat. Or maybe extract DNA from fruit or find out some fun facts about British animals.
Why not come along and meet York researchers and find out how their cutting-edge work is improving the world we live in?
Activities include:
Analysing the Past: The power of archaeological chemistry
Join us and discover how Chemistry can teach us about everything from Iron Age archaeology to animal fossils. Through fun games and activities, find out how protein analysis can reveal the secrets of the past.
Archaeology of Animals
Welcome to the amazing world of *zoo*archaeology. Learn about the anatomy of the animal skeleton and find out some fun facts about British animals, including their habitats and the history of their introduction to the British Isles.
Teeth Detectives
What can teeth tell us about the lives of our ancestors in the Neolithic period around 7,500 years ago? Become a detective and find out!
Engineering a Better World
Ever wanted to direct some interactive programmable robots? Then come along and join the North Yorkshire Institution of Engineering (IET) for some fun robot activities.
Extracting DNA from Fruit
Become a scientist for the day and extract DNA from fruit. Discover how DNA is important in living organisms, and how chemical extraction is used to make medicines from plants.
Find Your Voice
Find out what makes your voice unique with interactive demonstrations from the YorVoice team. Be prepared to ‘ooh’ and ‘aah’ - and make other vowel sounds too. Add your vocal tract length to our Festival chart and make a vowel resonator to take home.
Play with Numbers: What Counts?
Explore different types of numbers through a range of interactive activities and discover why numbers really do count. Join the Number Lab team and find out about research into number processing by children.
Psych!York
Look out for activities including optical illusions, brain-hat decoration and build-your-own-neuron kits. This is your chance to learn more about psychological research and discoveries being made at York.
Seeing is Believing: Build a DIY microscope
Join a team of Biophysicists to build a DIY microscope, investigate a biological sample and learn how we can delve deeper into the hidden world of Biology at the microscopic level.
The Power of Biomaterials to Heal the Body
Discover how researchers at the University of York are using materials known as hydrogels to grow human cells and tissues in a lab. Learn about their potential to combat disease and repair damage, then have a go at making your own hydrogel.
Photo credit: Alex Holland, University of York
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