Something I will never understand is that there are people who aren't interested in science. It's a tradition with my son and me that he stays up on Monday nights to watch Bang Goes the Theory and we love science programmes in general. The Cambridge Science fair was a brilliant opportunity to see some hands-on science (and lots of explosions).
In the morning we did the traditional tour of town looking at the colleges through their railings and refusing to pay to be punted down the Cam.
Then in the afternoon we left the dreaming spires (yes, I know that's Arnold on Oxford) and went to the impressively hi-tech laboratories at the Cavendish.
Our first lecture was called Vacuum Bazookas and Custard Powder bombs and was about the properties of air. The vacuum cleaner bazooka / machine gun was great fun. There was also the opportunity to look at how gases behave in liquid nitrogen and a hot air balloon made via a toaster. The finale was not the custard bomb but instead liquid nitrogen lobbed in a paddling pool with water and washing up liquid to impressive effect.
Vacuum bazooka
Afterwards my son got to make a parachute from a bag & Kinder egg and launch it from a water propelled rocket.
Other events involved learning to laser scan and looking at a raspberry Pi.
The highlight for my son was being picked in a lecture on the properties of light to be a demonstrator
On the Sunday we continued a family tradition and completed our fourth Sport Relief mile together. I'm so touched by the generosity of family and friends.
On the way home we visited the lopsided but beautiful Ely cathedral
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