This October staff and students have been sharing science with our local community in a wide range of events as part of Midlothian Science Festival. Image October 2015 During the first two weeks of October, science events were happening all over Midlothian as part of the fourth annual Midlothian Science Festival (www.midlothiansciencefestival.com) and this year staff and students from The Roslin Institute were involved in a wider range of events than ever. The Easter Bush Campus Open Day on 3rd October welcomed over 420 visitors to The Roslin Institute and the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, both of which were packed with activities created and run by our scientists, vets and students. The afternoon was a great success, with many visitors suggesting that the one thing that would improve the event would be to open for longer! Visitors to the Roslin Institute Building had almost twenty research-themed activities to choose from, including discovering the fantastic world of fluorescence in our state-of-the-art Bioimaging facility, dip-dyeing chicken eggs to examine their cuticle and taking a guided tour of the Institute building. Our scientists were also keen to show off their creative side, with visitors getting the chance to make and take home everything from chromosomes and bacteria to farmyard animals. There were also opportunities to explore research from our colleagues at Scotland's Rural College, who encouraged visitors to fish for (milk) fats, take a look through a thermal imaging camera and drop in for an appointment with Dr Poo! This year's Campus Open Day was another great success, with particularly large numbers of families with children who spent the entire afternoon in the Institute. Open days are important for our interactions with the public who ultimately support most of our work and they also provide a great opportunity for our scientists to improve their communication skills. A good time is always had by all. Professor David HumeDirector of The Roslin Institute In the following two weeks Roslin researchers took part in eight other Midlothian Science Festival events, from research talks in local high schools and community venues and science activities at local science gala days to a third outing for 'Science in the Saddle' our popular science-themed cycle ride with the Midlothian Ranger Service. The Roslin Institute is proud to support the Midlothian Science Festival, whose aim is to share science with communities in Midlothian and beyond, and we're already coming up with ideas for next year's festival - watch this space for news of these events and our other public engagement activities.
