BioQuarter Community Engagement Activities May 2024
Connections with our neighbouring communities are important to organisations and individuals at Edinburgh BioQuarter.
BioQuarter is close to the neighbouring communities of Craigmillar, Niddrie, Moredun and Gilmerton. The aim of our community engagement is for these areas to benefit directly from our location, with access to top researchers, clinicians, students, scientists and entrepreneurs.
The Castlebrae Superlab is a hub for science and innovation in the heart of the community in the neighbourhood of Niddrie, Edinburgh. It is a unique partnership between Edinburgh BioQuarter and Castlebrae Community Campus and provides transformational learning experiences for young people to further develop interest and skills in science.
WHAT SUPERLAB MEANS TO OUR COMMUNITY
Watch our video with Dr Cathy Southworth, Senior BioQuarter Education and Community Manager, Dr Matt Hughes, Curriculum Lead of STEM for Castlebrae Community Campus, and members of our community as they explain what the Superlab means to them.
The Castlebrae Superlab brings life to science and science to life. Castlebrae Superlab is a partnership between Edinburgh BioQuarter and Castlebrae Community Campus. With thanks to funding for its development from The Wellcome Trust Institutional Strategic Fund and The BioQuarter Partnership.
JAR IN ACTION
Sustainability issues touch our lives in many ways. FUSION, a University of Edinburgh and Edinburgh College of Art collaboration, partnered with Castlebrae Community Campus to bring a sustainability project, Jar in Action, to the pupils and teachers.
In two workshop sessions during the spring term, participants chose from a selection of materials, ranging from e-waste to unused food dressings, before creating artwork from sustainability concepts. This was quite a challenge to distil a single idea or emotion which represented sustainability into something that was small enough to fit into a glass jar! View the Eco Group creations here
A selection of these fantastic jars are now part of an exhibition touring Edinburgh including Edinburgh Central Library until 31st May, with all 90 jars that were submitted on display at Edinburgh Printmakers, the closing venue, from Sunday 2nd June to Saturday 15th June.
SHOWCASING RESEARCH, INSPIRING SCIENCE
Edinburgh BioQuarter welcomed Graeme Dey MSP, Minister for Higher and Further Education, who supports the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills.
The Minister visited the University of Edinburgh’s Institute for Regeneration and Repair (IRR), which incorporates the Centre for Regenerative Medicine, Centre for Inflammation Research and the Centre for Reproductive Health, to learn more about the cutting edge research across the Institute. Mr Dey also met with students to hear about their community engagement activities with local schools and this provided an opportunity for a discussion on medical education.
SCIENCE FESTIVAL WORKSHOPS
Each year, Edinburgh hosts a world-class Science Festival with creative and stimulating activities to introduce and showcase science and tech to young people and promote community engagement .
What a fantastic time scientists from the Centre for Reproductive Health had running their sold out reproductive health workshops at the National Museum of Scotland. Ready, Steady, Grow! was attended by enthusiastic and inquisitive future scientists as they investigated the building blocks of fertility.
Young people learned more about the challenges of creating a new life, from the successful fertilisation of an egg to the growth and development of a healthy human. Using microscopes, they examined mouse embryos to discover how cells grow and change to become a healthy body and learn about their own cells by investigating the roles of different cells have.
OUTREACH ACTIVITY AT PRESTON LODGE HIGH SCHOOL
Researchers from the University of Edinburgh’s Centre for Reproductive Health facilitated an outreach activity at Preston Lodge High School.
The enthusiastic young scientists, aged 16 to 18 years, learned about the challenges of creating a new life from the successful fertilisation of an egg to the growth and development of an embryo and what is required to ensure the creation of a healthy human.
Read more news from across Edinburgh BioQuarter in BioQuarter Bulletin – May 2024.
Keep up to date with all the news, views and future developments at Edinburgh BioQuarter.
Sign Up to BioQuarter Bulletin
