Staff from the Environmental Research Group (ERG) of King’s College London spent the weekend of 16-17th March entertaining and enlightening children, and their families, attending the Big Bang Fair with activities related to air pollution and health.

The Big Bang is the largest celebration of science, technology, engineering and maths for young people in the UK, with the annual Big Bang Fair held in a different location each year since 2009. Last year, the Big Bang Fair attracted 56,000 visitors to the NEC in Birmingham, and this year was expecting to significantly exceed that number at London’s ExCel centre.

Representing the MRC-HPA Centre for Environment & Health, staff from ERG helped run the Medical Research Council’s (MRC) stand, along with a group from the MRC unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing. Our part of the stand, entitled ‘The Art of Breathing’, focused on air pollution in London and its effects on the lungs. Younger fair-goers could create an ‘ink-breath drawing’ - using their breath to make a drawing that resembled the branching structure of the lungs, while their parents could discover real-time air pollution levels in their area using our interactive website. Family groups could also test their lung function and compare lung sizes on our spirometer.

Dr Helen Wood, Andrew Grieve, Tim Baker, Dr Ian Mudway and Dr Paul Pfeffer from King’s were joined by Dr Rossa Brugha, Dr Chinedu Nwokoro, Dr Isobel Dundas and Louise Cross from Queen Mary University of London, and Effie Coe, Bianca Manu and Sabina Stefanova from Invisible Dust. On the other side of the stand, the Use it don’t lose it! team from the MRC Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing, had activities in which participants were able to test their memory agility and explore an anatomical human brain.

The huge show floor at the Excel centre was divided into various zones, with the MRC stand located in the ‘Body Talk’ zone, with the theme of ‘understanding your body inside and out’. We found ourselves next to a giant model of a nose on the stand from the British Society for Immunology, which invited you to make your own ‘snot’, and an array of life-like medical models on the stand from King’s Health Partners, where you could practice CPR, sew up a ‘wound’ or help deliver a ‘baby’. It was a very hands-on environment!

Engaging the public directly at science fairs and other events is part of a new movement by universities with the joint aim of raising the profile of their research and reaching members of the public. Our appearance at The Big Bang Fair is the latest in a rolling programme of outreach events designed to engage and educate the public about air pollution and health. In addition, the MRC is celebrating its centenary this year with a special programme of public engagement activities.

Item date 25/03/2013