H2O Days For Schoolchildren At Paignton Zoo

By Philip Knowling 

Paignton, UK - The WH2Ose Water Science Fair 2009 takes place at Paignton Zoo on Thursday 12th March and Friday 13th March.

Some 520 primary and secondary pupils will join in with a variety of workshops over the two days. Topics include chromatography (literally ‘colour writing’), seaweed (with staff from Living Coasts) and the peculiar world of plankton (with Torbay Coast and Countryside Trust). There will be different shows focusing on the excitement, beauty and science of bubbles.

Treasures of the Deep looks at how vital water is for all living things, how animals adapt to water and the various products we get from the sea. Students will be able to explore a number of marine specimens, including a whale vertebrae, a nautilus shell and the snout of a swordfish.

The Will Torbay Last Forever? workshop is being run by the English Riviera Geopark, and will show how the force of the sea has shaped Torbay in the past and how it is likely to influence the future. 

Patrick Freerick from Torbay Council said: “The aim of the fair and of the WH2Ose Water partnership is to engage young people with science, excite them about the possibilities and to communicate the thrill of the subject. Science is about the real world all around us – we see science, use science and benefit from science every single day.”

The event has been short-listed as one of three finalists in a competition to find the Best Science and Engineering event in National Science and Engineering Week 2009.

The WH2Ose Water partners are Paignton Zoo Environmental Park, Living Coasts, the Devon Education Business Partnership, Torbay Council, AstraZeneca, Torquay Natural History Museum, Torbay Coast and Countryside Trust and South West Water.

The fair will use different locations around the Zoo, including educational classrooms and lecture theatres. Workshops are being run by the Royal Society of Chemistry (who also have a careers fair at Paignton Zoo on Wednesday 4th March), the University of Plymouth and Torbay Coast and Countryside Trust.

The 520 students attending over the two days come from across the area. Primary schools attending on Thursday include Galmpton Primary School, Homelands  Primary School,  Combe Pafford  School , Sherwell Valley Primary School, Chudleigh Primary School, Rydon Primary School, Bishopsteignton  Primary School, the Abbey School, Sacred Heart and Torbay  School.

Secondary schools on Friday include Torquay Boys Grammar School, Paignton Community College, Trinity  School,  St Cuthbert Mayne School, Torbay  School , Brixham  Community College, Churston Ferrers Grammar School , Torquay Girls Grammar School.

Paignton Zoo Environmental Park is a registered charity. For more information go to www.paigntonzoo.org.uk or ring (01803) 697500.

Paignton Zoo is a member of the British & Irish Association of Zoos & Aquariums (BIAZA). BIAZA represents its member collections and promotes the values of good zoos and aquariums. For further information please telephone 020 7449 6351.

www.paigntonzoo.org.uk
www.livingcoasts.org.uk
 
Paignton Zoo Environmental Park is a registered charity. Registered office: Paignton Zoo Environmental Park, Totnes Road, Paignton, Devon TQ4 7EU. Registration number 792877. Registered charity number 300923. Place of incorporation: Companies House, Cardiff.