Kingston Parade is to be turned into a hands-on discovery space where people can find out about the Roman Baths and Bath Abbey from a science and technology perspective on Saturday 7th March.
Photo courtesy of B&NES Council
The Roman Baths and Bath Abbey will jointly host a free Science Busking event in the square from 11am to 3pm.
Visitors will be able to explore how arches are built, experiment with aqueducts, find out what a paw print can reveal about Roman life, and discover why archaeologists use X-rays – all under the protective shelter of a marquee.
Councillor Paul Crossley, cabinet member for Community Services at Bath & North East Somerset Council, said: “This free event will be a great opportunity for people of all ages to have a go at hands-on activities such as building an arch or experimenting with a model aqueduct, while finding out more about science and technology from the Roman times right up to the present day.”
Bath Abbey is currently undertaking a major engineering project to restore the Abbey’s collapsing floor, harness energy from Bath’s hot spring waters to power eco-friendly underfloor heating and build new facilities in the vaults beneath.
Visitors will be able to find out more first-hand from some of the contractors who will be sharing their innovative work.
This includes:
- Wessex Archaeology showing virtual reality views of what lies beneath the Abbey floor
- BuroHappold demonstrating their engineering expertise
- How IsoEnergy are producing special EnergyBlades to harness the energy in Bath’s spa water to heat the Abbey
- Teams from the University of the West of England and Bath Spa University offering sessions on printing and photogrammetry.
Revd Stephen Girling, one of the Abbey’s clergy team, said: “We’re really keen to engage families and local people in the work we’re doing at Bath Abbey for our Footprint project and share with them the amazing science and innovations that are being used.
“This hands-on discovery event provides a wonderful opportunity to do this, while at the same time offering families a fun and free experience for their children.
“We’re really grateful to all our contractors for offering their time and expertise.”
Science Busking is part of British Science Week 2020 and will kick off a full week of hands-on science activities at the Roman Baths, with this year’s topic being ‘Our diverse planet’.
Those interested can just turn up – advance booking is not required. Children must be accompanied by an adult.
