April 2010: Meet the Meds & Vets at the Edinburgh International Science Festival From the 12th till 17th of April 2010 biomedical researchers from the University of Edinburgh took over Hawthornden Court at the National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street as part of Discover Science – Meet the Meds & Vets at the Edinburgh International Science Festival 2010. And with more than 5000 people visiting these free drop-in activities proved a great success. Hand-on activities stand Germ Attack was developed by Dr Marieke Hoeve and taught visitors about infectious diseases and how our body, especially our immune system, defends itself against them. Activities included a microscope with slides of immune cells and a magnetic game explaining where certain infectious diseases occur in the world, and how pathogens infect & affect the patient’s body. Fluffy toys in the shape of blood cells and microbes helped the demonstrators enact the battle that goes on in our body once the micro-organisms manage to break the first barriers and start to invade the body. These models also inspired the younger children to create their own – good or bad – micro-organisms, either by drawing them, or using play dough, cloves and pasta – a big hit with the children. This article was published on 2024-09-10
