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Wednesday, 23 June 2010
Professor Sir Harry Kroto, Nobel Prize Winner in Chemistry,
returned to his old school to deliver a day of workshops and talks
aimed at inspiring an interest in Science amongst the region's
young people. Sir Harry addressed over 600 pupils from across
the region during his busy day at Bolton School. The day of
fun activities and lectures was part of the Ogden Trust Science
Partnership, an initiative between local schools and universities
which aims to promote science and engineering to young
people. Sir Harry ran a similar science day at the School
last year.
Primary schools from across the region were treated to a short
talk from Sir Harry before setting about the hands-on task of
building representations of the carbon molecule, C60
Buckminsterfullerene or "buckyballs", that Sir Harry discovered and
that led to him being awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in
1996.
Year 4 pupil, Namitha Aravind from Bolton School said: "When we
went to meet Harry Kroto, he taught us Science and explained it in
a very good way. I really enjoyed making the buckyball. He was very
kind."
In the afternoon, secondary schools learnt about the life of Sir
Harry and his passion for science and art and design and of the
importance of pursuing a wide range of interests. He talked
about how his interest in how things work has always driven him and
he has marvelled at how science has changed the world. He now works
towards using the power of science to help solve the world's
problems.
Throughout the day Sir Harry showed a natural engagement with
the pupils and really did prove to be a wonderful
communicator. He said: "It was fantastic to talk to these
young children - the students I address are usually much
older. Spreading the word about how science can help, indeed
save, humanity is critical. Once again, I have had a
wonderful day."
Sir Harry is now aged 70 and is focussing more of his efforts on
using the Internet as a learning tool. His work with the Vega
Science Trust has seen him and other scientists put
presentations and learning materials online which can be viewed
worldwide at: http://vega.org.uk/
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