Learning about the 3Rs: science fun for all ages
The winners of our Public Engagement Small Awards have taken their 3Rs-related work to ‘Meet the Expert’ sessions at science museums, into schools and extracurricular activity groups for children, as well as to university departmental open days.
A wide range of topics have been covered, including using fruit flies as research models, developing brain cells on a chip for drug development research and improving rodent welfare by advancing the monitoring of their behaviour in the lab and allowing them to live in preferred social groups.
Popular family-orientated activities have included drawing brains on swimming caps, guessing which fruit have been imaged using an MRI scanner, betting on the movements of flies to win prizes, and controlling the movement of balls and boxes on a computer screening using the power of thought. Our researchers have also spent time explaining their work to visitors of all ages, and answering questions about both their specific research and the 3Rs in general.
