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The event was run with the help of PhD Physics students and MA Education Creative Arts students.

Secrets of light and colour in butterflies and photography revealed at science masterclass

Children learned how physics brings light and colour to photography and makes insects iridescent as part of a fun masterclass at the University of Exeter.

Year 7 and 8 pupils took part in seminars and hands on activities including looking at photography via a Camera Obscura. They learned how physicists at the University of Exeter are investigating the physics of reflection and refraction, how light travels, how colour is created, and how important they are in the world around us. Science teachers were also offered professional development resources with advice on how to bring the sciences and arts together in their own lessons too. 

The event, held at the University’s Streatham campus, was led by Professor Pete Vukusic and Sam White.

Professor Vukusic’s research explores how light is manipulated in the natural world, and Sam is a specialist in photography who works in schools with his Camera Obscura. The event was a new collaboration between the University of Exeter's Graduate School of Education andCollege of Engineering, Mathematics and Physical Sciences and run with the help of PhD Physics students and MA Education Creative Arts students.  

This Masterclass is part of the EU-funded CREATIONS project, which aims to develop more engaging science classrooms by applying creative and arts-based approaches. It was run in association with the Science and Technology Facilities Council’s Physics Masterclass Programme. At the University of Exeter CREATIONS is being led by Dr Kerry Chappell from the Centre for Creativity, Sustainability and Educational Futures in the Graduate School of Education.

Date: 1 March 2017

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