An explosive day of fun (From Malvern Gazette)

An explosive day of fun

3:00pm Friday 15th March 2013 in News

 MORE than 1,000 students from across the West Midlands will be converging on the Three Counties Showground for an explosive day of experimentation and fun.

Big Bang Three Counties, which takes place on Wednesday and coincides with National Science & Engineering Week, is designed to encourage young people to look at science and engineering in a new light, and consider the opportunities available to them in the field.

Pupils will have the chance to engage with cutting-edge research and amazing technology, meet real-life scientists and quiz them abouttheir work, and take part in lots of hands-on activities.

Sue Hodgson-Jones, the Three Counties Agricultural Society education officer, said: “There is an alarming fall in the number of teenagers choosing to study sciences, and yet there is a wealth of interesting lucrative jobs in the field.

“Some of those jobs are in the world of agriculture and horticulture, and that’s where we come in.

“The robotic mechanisation of the dairy industry, computer programmes to plan crop delivery, maintain feed levels and monitor growth of grass in the fields, the development of hybrid strains in horticulture and the development of food technology, are all examples of how science is used in agriculture and horticulture.”