IBMS STEM Ambassador speaks at Winchester Science Centre

IBMS member Victoria Ipindamitan MIBMS recently went to the Winchester Science Centre to speak about being a STEM Ambassador.

Here are Victoria’s own words about her experience.

“It is always exciting to step out of my day job and represent STEM at events around the country. Recently I went to the Winchester Science Centre to speak to young people about my work.

The day started off with various STEM Ambassadors introducing themselves to one another and talking about their professions. This event centred on STEM careers in Space. This area of science was very new to me but they had an expert working at the centre.

There was a central presentation on the current work going on Space and intergalactic developments. It focused on the importance of science in making the rocket that sent British astronaut Tim Peak to the International Space Station. The presenter mentioned the rocket fuel required to propel the rocket into space and also said that Tim went into space to research how seeds could grow in space, how food could taste better as well as ongoing research into sleep during space travel and potentially on other planet environments.

I was astonished to find out that there is no water in space and that the astronauts had to drink water recycled from numerous sources inside the spacecraft including sweat, air moisture and urine. At the end of this talk, Emily, the resource manager invited the students and asked them about careers in space including diverse opportunities as astronauts, astrophysicists, computer scientists, material scientists, geologists and software engineers. 

The Careers Event took place afterwards.  There were nine schools involved and 12 from each. The event was carried out through speed networking where I interacted with the attendees and spoke about my profession and role as a Biomedical Scientist.  To make the interaction more interesting and visualise what I do, I showed the coloured picture of a normal liver and that of a diseased liver. The students were intrigued by the difference and the picture. I then told them about my area of speciality Cellular Pathology (Cytology).  The students asked interesting questions to meet their curiosity and we were able to talk further about how we work closely with the doctors.

They were also interested in the freebies I had displayed on the table. These were leaflets, pencils with the institutes logo and lollipops. The freebies especially the leaflets, added more value to my short presentation by providing the students with added knowledge about Biomedical Sciences.

The day ended with an awesome planetarium show showing the night sky and formation of stars with a large dome shape projection screen.  The Winchester event was very well organised and offered STEM to showcase its work to a very keen audience of young people. I learnt a lot from the organisers of this event and I thank them for offering the opportunity to share my experience.  Fantastic day.”

For more information about the Winchester Science Centre, click here.

The IBMS encourages its members to get involved in volunteer activities and promotes STEM ambassadors. Learn more about on how to become a STEM ambassador here.  

If you are a professional in the field of biomedical sciences, read more about the opportunities available or contact our public engagement team for more information.