TV celebrity Dr Christian Jessen of Channel 4s Embarrassing Bodies will be officially opening The Peterborough Science Festival on March 7 at Thomas Deacon Academy. The event is hosted by Peterborough Regional College (PRC), Thomas Deacon Academy (TDA), and University Centre Peterborough (UCP) and is funded by Aimhigher.

The Peterborough Science Festival will run from Monday 7 March 7 until Friday March 11, as an introduction to the larger National Science and Engineering Week.

Dr Christian is sure to receive a warm reception. He has been at the forefront of everything from Embarrassing Bodies to Supersize vs. Superskinny over the past few years and is a huge TV hit following the Channel 4 series.

Students from Peterborough Regional College are planning to run a Land Rover on chip fat oil – Something Science-mad Jessen is sure to love. Other whacky activities during the week include, Robot Wars, Chocolate Welding and students powering a television by cycling!

Liz Knight, Curriculum Director of Arts & Sciences at Peterborough Regional College, says:

“The week’s range of educational and exciting activities will encourage young and old to engage with Science. It is hoped that the Peterborough Science Festival will ensure that people can get into their element!”

Staff and students from both TDA and PRC are particularly looking forward to the guest appearance from Dr Christian.

One of the aims of the week and its events is to raise awareness of science based qualifications and programmes and how exciting and popular they can be! Also the campuses will be emphasising the progression routes for students in science right through from GCSE to degree level and employment.

Peterborough Science Festival is being launched for the first time this year with a view to establish it as an annual event across the city and Eastern Region. Peterborough Regional College (PRC) and University Centre Peterborough (UCP) will host an Environment-themed day with the Atlantic Whale Foundation and Greenversity, providing exhibitions and lectures. Another PRC/UCP joint event is the mock-up crime scenes that are running all week for students to compare historical and contemporary forensic methods and to attempt to ‘solve the case’ themselves.

Thomas Deacon Academy and University College Peterborough are hosting Cambridge University’s Society of Biology, which will include interactive exhibitions, speakers, workshops and the Naked Scientists. TDA is hosting the majority of events aimed at primary schools, which includes the National Space Centre (Leicester). TDA will also be encouraging schools from across the city to participate in a science team quiz. The exciting ‘Robot Wars’, also held at TDA, – where visitors get an insight into the engineering of a “Robot Wars” robot, and then have an opportunity to compete and disable three other robots in a tournament.

Peterborough Regional College will be hosting a Medical and Bones event, which will include radiography, physics in Medicine and medical instruments through the ages. It will also include a virtual autopsy from Dr. Liz Astell (Pathology Lab) and Karen Randall (Microbiologist) will be offering workshops. University Centre Peterborough will be hosting a Forensics Day on 11th March which will include lectures and demonstrations, as well as careers advice for those interested in psychology and STEM subjects.