The workshops

Baylab workshops are designed to be fun and engaging. Students can ‘solve’ a crime using forensics, investigate colours or help transport oxygen around the body while learning sound scientific principles through a process of discovery.

All workshops are targeted to different key stages. Some experiments have basic and advanced versions, depending on key stage

Dyes and Pigments

A four-hour workshop designed for pupils aged 7-11 years

In this workshop students discover what colours really are, understand how objects become coloured, and how chemists can use dyes and pigments in industry. Students get the chance to investigate uses of colour, looking at what white light is made of, how light behaves and how our eyes work in order for us to see colour/objects.

They will take part in a wide variety of practical based activities; from learning about the history of dyes and how they were made, to creating their own paints and natural dyes as well as getting hands on with 3D eye models to help them gain a deeper understanding of colour in the real world.

Heart Mechanics

A four-hour workshop designed for pupils aged 7-13 years

Baylab has developed a new and exciting workshop focused on the cardiovascular system. The workshop will look at the composition of blood, the circulatory system, structure and function of the heart as well as looking at heart disease, heart health and lifestyle.

The students will have a go at making their own fake blood, using microscopes to look at blood smears, modelling the circulatory system as well as getting hands on with anatomy models, blood vessel scanners and much more.

By the end of the workshop, students will have a good understanding of the core structures and function of the heart and cardiovascular system, heart diseases and their impact, and ways to look after their own hearts though healthier lifestyle choices.

Secondary and Sixth form sessions

Plants, Farming and Feeding 10 Billion
 
A 4 hour workshop looking a plants and agriculture for pupil ages 14-16
 
This workshop covers a lot of cross curricular areas, from plants, farming challenges, climate change and the future of farming in order to obtain food security. The workshop explores the current population stress on resources, the importance in understanding plants on a molecular level, the challenges farmers face in different continents and how the future of farming aims to tackle some of the world’s major issues, from world hunger and climate change.

The workshop links to the Biology and Geography National Curriculum; Photosynthesis, plant structure; cells, leaf structure, xylem and phloem, transport, plant disease and genetic engineering

AQA  4.7.5.1 Factors affecting food security and AQA Required practical activity 6: investigate the effect of light intensity on the rate of photosynthesis as well as OCR B6.2 Feeding the Human Race

Geography  OCR B Resource resilience, 8.2, Can we feed nine billion people by 2050? And AQA, Resource Resilience covering;

• Reasons for increasing food consumption: economic development, rising population
• Factors affecting food supply: climate, technology, pests and disease, water stress
• Strategies used to increase food supply

MARVELLous Mutations

What makes us different from each other? We explore what makes you different from Captain America, or Wolverine. A five-hour session for secondary pupils ages 13-16 focussed on variation.

Themed around the MARVEL comics, we explore the biological concept of ‘mutations’ - what they are, where they occur and why they are significant. Pupils will construct their own DNA molecules to learn about genetic structure, and how changes in our genetic code (mutations) can cause variation. Students will then learn about Mitosis and Meiosis (two processes that can increase variation) via a series of interactive activities. All this is covered before the experiment begins: DNA Extraction; helping students explore genetic variation, and to test whether we have our very own superheroes in the class. Pupils then hear from Larry Gilbertson, one of Bayer’s very own geneticists. As they fly through the theory of DNA replication, defend their arguments over mitotic analysis and improve their practical cape-abilities, they will battle stereotypes and stigma, and prove that maybe, just maybe, we can all be scientific superheroes after all.  

Links to the national curriculum: 

• Cell Division (4.1.2) 
• Reproduction (4.6.1) 
• Variation and Evolution (4.6.2) 
• The development of understanding of genetics and evolution (4.6.3) 

Forensics

A five hour workshop designed for pupils ages 16-18

During this workshop student’s look at DNA from a missing person’s investigation, using molecular biology techniques such as PCR and gel electrophoresis students create DNA profiles for each individual.

Students achieve this by studying the non-coding regions of DNA, looking at sections known as Short Tandem Repeats (STRs) in order to identify an individual.  This involves cloning the sections using PCR before separating the DNA fragment sizes with gel electrophoresis and interpreting the data shown.

By the end of this workshop, students will further their understanding of the use of genetic fingerprinting in the field of forensic science, giving them an opportunity to apply the theory from their studies.