Physics, Nanoscience and Computer Science Taster Day 2017

37 students (aged 13-15) from two London schools visited UCL, where they were given a short lecture, taken on a tour of the UCL Physics labs and the London Centre for Nanotechnology. After lunch activities and demonstrations were organised to give students a taster of the types of experiments that are carried out by nano- and computer scientists.

Emily showed students round the STM lab (Scanning Tunnelling Microscopy). She also helped to run an Android App Development activity. Students were given an almost completed game designed for Android, where three dice are rolled and points are given according to the outcome, and they were taught about programming apps so that they could finish the programming to make their own personalised app.

Troy used a programme developed by UCL called the engduino which is designed to teach schoolchildren basic programming. Troy demonstrated how you can measure, for example, light levels using the sensors on the engduino. The results were then plotted on a computer and then using the engduino students were able to set a thermistor which caused LEDs to change colour in response to the light being measured. He also organised a memory game using an accelerometer on the engduino where the students tilted the device in the same direction as shown on the LEDs.

For more information about the engduino please click here