Anneliese Dodds MP visits our Science Oxford Centre

Anneliese Dodds MP took time out to visit our Science Oxford Centre with her daughter for one of our Family Open Days.

During the week, the Centre is open for school visits but every other Saturday we welcome families to our Family Open Days, where they can try the hands-on exhibits in the Exploration Zone and afterwards explore the several kilometres of trails in the surrounding woodland. Anneliese and her daughter had lots of – socially distanced – fun in the Exploration Zone with the super-fast Scarf Shooter and kept discs spinning for an impressive amount of time on the Turntable.

When asked about her visit Anneliese said: “It is wonderful to see the Science Oxford Centre open again for school and family visits. The Oxford region is one of the UK’s most significant centres for science-based research and enterprise so investing in and inspiring future generations in science and technology is critical to maintaining the county’s – and the nation’s – position at the forefront of research and innovation.”

Science centres – like the Science Oxford Centre – cultivate a positive attitude towards science and lay the foundations for science learning to encourage young people to choose science subjects in school and, ultimately, to follow a STEM career.

I fully support the ask to Government to take measures to protect this vital STEM sector. Once lost, these centres cannot be easily replaced. We are now in more need than ever to create a local pool of science talent to step into science-based jobs in our region: home-grown talent for home-grown jobs”

Science Oxford has been running science centres for nearly 30 years and we have seen the impact it makes on thousands of children that have been through our doors. In fact, we now have an entrepreneur based in our Wood Centre for Innovation – Alex Greenhalgh of Spintex – who won a Nuffield Foundation Bursary through Science Oxford. This is great example of how The Oxford Trust’s support for science and enterprise comes full circle as well as the importance of science centres across the UK to inspire young people about STEM. Find out how you can help the campaign to secure the future of the UK’s science centres here.