North Hertfordshire College’s first and second-year Level 3 Health and Social Care students visited the STEM Discovery Centre to take part in a range of exciting practical activities!
Their visit involved the full STEM Discovery Centre experience, with learners getting hands-on with experiments and demonstrations designed to support their understanding of different health-related topics. The two trips were certainly busy – just check out some of the experiments!
Understanding bodily functions through slime 🤧
Bodily functions, particularly how the body works to get rid of bad bacteria, can be a difficult topic to understand through theory alone. Enter the STEM Discovery Centre team with their hands-on slime-making session! By thinking of the slime as the mucus inside our bodies, our learners were able to test for themselves how the substance can collect bacteria and move it out of our systems.
Testing acids and bases with cabbage 👩🔬
Using a homemade PH indicator created with red cabbage water, our learners experimented with different household substances to test acids and bases. They tried the PH indicator on liquids including bleach, toothpaste, vinegar, and energy drinks to discover whether they were more acid or alkaline, and learnt more about what that means for our bodies.
Effective handwashing put under the microscope 🔬
We’re all very familiar with the importance of handwashing, especially after recent years, but just how much are we really aware of how easily infections can spread? Using a special glow-in-the-dark gel on their hands and some UV torches, our learners were able to see how far the gel had spread through human interactions and activities. They also took swabs of their cheeks and mobile phones to examine under microscopes to see if any bacteria were present.
Exploring contamination control with the Exo Mars Rover 🤖
Learners also enjoyed a talk about the Exo Mars Rover and saw some of the rovers themselves in the testing area. This gave them a chance to learn more about the importance of contamination control and the processes involved in a clean room environment. There was also the chance to ask questions about how and why the rovers are used in the mission, including how the AI works and why rovers are used instead of humans, and the impact of gravity and radiation in space on human bodies.
The learners enjoyed the sessions and being able to see the concepts they’ve learnt be applied to real life. Aimee Reeve, one of NHC’s second-year Level 3 Health and Social Care students, said: “It was so much fun learning in a practical way.”
Anna Copper, one of NHC’s Health and Social Care tutors, also agrees. She said: “the day was such an engaging way for the students to learn about these topics, which are key to effective clinical practice.”
Many thanks to the STEM Discovery Centre for supporting our learners!
If you’re interested in learning more about the Health and Social Care sector, be sure to check out North Hertfordshire College’s Health & Social Care courses. With NHC, you can stay close to home and investigate the knowledge you need to go far in your future career!