Life Sciences Community Open Day

Manchester gets the science bug

Scientists from the Faculty of Life Sciences and the Faculty of Medical and Human Sciences are celebrating their best ever annual Community Open day which took place on 7 May. The free event, held in the Michael Smith Building at the heart of the University campus, welcomed hundreds of people from across the city, keen to see where some of the country’s leading scientists work.

Highlights included coding a Superhero, making DNA cookies, £1m robots, touring the labs, maggot painting and seed planting. Also on display were creepy crawlies and microbes, insects and amphibians.

One family wrote to the University, thanking the team for an ‘amazing’ event, praising them for giving the opportunity to show children from local communities what the inside of a University looks like and how researchers work.

Organiser Natalie Liddle said: “We were absolutely delighted with the turnout which made all the hard work worthwhile. It’s so special to be able to open our doors to the public, so they can see what we do and learn about the research we carry out. Our mission is to inspire as well as entertain, to get the message across that a career in science is achievable for people in so many different walks of life.”