Open House
On 14 March 2012, NPL opened its doors to the public for the Open House event. Over 40 of our science laboratories were available to explore and an educational outreach area housed some of our most popular interactive exhibits. More than 2,500 people passed through the doors over the course of the day.
NPL scientists were on hand throughout to explain their work and its practical applications, and to answer any questions in an informal environment. The range of visitors, from young to old, and with varying levels of scientific knowledge, gave our staff an opportunity to talk about their work to people with differing perspectives, making the event an interesting and valuable experience for all.
See more photos and find out more
NPL Academy
40 young people from the UK and as far afield as Spain and the USA attended the 2012 NPL Academy - a week’s worth of work experience for GCSE and A Level students. The students were first introduced to NPL and then assigned a host member of staff who gave them a specific project to work on. One project that especially ignited the imagination this year was to investigate the resilience of electronics by seeing which parts of a mobile phone would theoretically work on Saturn, by immersing the components in liquid nitrogen.
The NPL Academy gives students the opportunity to experience what it is really like to work in science and can help them solidify their choices of degree or career. One of the very first students to attend the NPL academy in 2008 recently returned to NPL, after gaining a Physics degree from the University of Oxford, to work on her PhD.
Find out more about the NPL Academy
Achievements
Get more
For more stories from 2012, please download our Annual Review (1.17 MB - PDF)