Jean Archer looks back on a busy and rewarding Uist Science Week
Mid-March saw Lochmaddy’s former primary school abuzz with fun-filled activities during Uist’s first ever Science Week, funded by the British Science Association as part of its annual British Science Week, hosted by North Uist Development Company (NUDC) and magnificently organised by Selene Huntley.
The first Saturday saw dozens of primary school and pre-school age children absorbed in mixing and stirring mini-experiments – for slower running experiments the eagerly-anticipated results were not to be seen until the following Saturday. It saw the week’s main event with over a dozen stations set up for interactive face-to-face engagement with local experts.
Jean-Pierre Brien showcased the varieties of seaweed sustainably harvested by Uist Asco with the aid of aerial surveys conducted through use of the displayed drone.
Conor Lawless awed with projections from his digital microscope onto a large VDU screen supplied by Voove.
Chris Davidson showed how anyone can monitor aviation traffic using a Raspberry Pi and receiver to pick up radio waves.
Andy Robert’s remarkable collection of mainly avian skulls was as informative as it was interesting, so too were the skeletal remains mainly of marine mammals displayed by Mary Harman.
Brian Rabbitts shared his passion for birdwatching while Anne Rabbitts’ workshop on drawing of natural history specimens was particularly popular with young folk.
Maria Finnegan, over especially for the event from Scalpay, delighted youngsters with chocolate welding, aided by Amy Roberts and her girls, who also got their hands dirty helping out on both Saturdays with the messy zone.
Back on the mezzanine floor, one admirer of Ada Cambell’s inspirational and informative display on magnetism recalled that she taught him Science in the school half a century ago.
Primarily intended to promote young islanders’ interest in STEM subjects, our Science Week had much of interest for people of all ages.
Mid-week events included Jean Archer’s 430 million-year ‘excursion’ back to the origin of Uist’s ‘fossil earthquakes’; Alison Stockwell’s WI-CAN Climate Ceilidh and Ruth Gottschall’s introduction to star-gazing. Unfortunately, her planned follow-up event was scuppered by unfavourable weather.
An actual outdoor event was the fabulous and informative nature trail set up in Langass Wood by Emile Durie of Otter Mountain Wild Things.
On each Saturday people strolled freely through the shortly to re-open environmental displays, many expressing amazement and delight at the array of brightly coloured wall panels.
For youngsters a couple of microscopes were a big draw, while marine footage shown on the largest of the exhibition’s four display screens held the attention of young and old alike.
An informal talk on Uist’s ‘Fossil Earthquakes’ helped raise our £134.26 contribution to the amount raised that same Saturday by the keep-fit group’s event in Carinish Hall for victims of the Turkish/Syrian earthquakes.
Regrettably, it’s not possible here to list and individually thank all the organisations and individuals whose contributions in one way or another helped make the very first Uist Science Week so very successful. We would however single out Professor Carl Smith for specimens of Uist’s unique sticklebacks and Selene Huntley for her indefatigable Facebook postings.
North Uist Development Company is now seeking volunteers who can spare a few consecutive hours once or twice a month to help keep the Environment Centre open through the coming summer. If you can spare the time and/or would like more information about what is asked of our volunteers please make contact with us through the NUDC Facebook Page, or by e-mail to nudc@isleofnorthuist.com.
The Environment Centre is not just for visitors but for everyone who is curious about Uist’s remarkable and distinctive natural heritage, its historic modification through islanders’ traditional working practices, or is concerned about the islands’ vulnerability to the adverse effects of ongoing climate change.
