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More than 100 children, along with around 50 parents, grandparents and caregivers enjoyed an exciting variety of activities on the theme of ‘How the Body Works’ in University Parks on Tuesday 26 July. This ‘Science in the Park’ event was run by the Department of Physiology, Anatomy & Genetics (DPAG) Outreach and Public Engagement Working Group (OPEWG) and volunteers comprising research scientists, clinical anatomy teaching staff, and graduate and undergraduate students.

Collage of volunteer students at the Science in the Park event
Clockwise from top left: Haopeng Xu and Jéssica Luiz, Kalina Naidoo, Samuel Snowdon, Irina-Elena Lupu, Tishan Wellalagodage and Jéssica Luiz, Bethan O'Connor, Barbara Kirby, Christophe Ravaud, Rajeevan Narayanan Therpurakal, Sharmila Saran Rajendran, and Andia Redpath

The Group delivered seven hands-on activities covering a range of topics including blood, brain, DNA, heart, lungs, and the skeleton, some of which utilised virtual or augmented reality. Aimed primarily at children, scientists from across the Medical Sciences Division were on hand to answer questions and share fun facts. Postdoctoral Research Scientist and OPEWG member Andia Redpath said: “We made a lot of effort to create engaging activities that encouraged interaction, not just us unloading information. We wanted children to have fun, and adults to enjoy their time and see that their children were not only learning something new but being occupied.”

Activities included:

  • ‘Neuroanatomy’ by Marie-Curie Fellow Rajeevan Narayanan Therpurakal and Alceste Deli from the Nuffield Department of Surgical Sciences
  • ‘Listen to your heart’ by DPhil students Jéssica Luiz, Haopeng Xu, and Tishan Wellalagodage
  • 'DNA extraction using strawberries' by Oxford Parkinsons Disease Centre Research Assistant Kalina Naidoo, with Hami Lee from the Department of Psychiatry.
  • ‘How much do you know about your heart?’ quiz by Christophe Ravaud
  • ‘The different colours of blood’ by Irina-Elena Lupu with Marie Vanhollebeke and Rafa Uddin
  • 'Placing organs on a profile of the human body' by Andia Redpath with support from Bethan O’Connor 
  • ‘Human Anatomy: Spellbinding facts & activities for curious minds’ by Sharmila Saran Rajendran, Samuel Snowdon, Barbara Kirby, and Mohamed Fasil from the Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences.

Read the full story on the DPAG website