We are seeking funding to support a week of hands-on science workshops for children in Liverpool. The workshops will be run by Cambridge Hands-On Science (CHaOS), a student-run science outreach group from the University of Cambridge. Every summer, CHaOS takes a van full of exciting science experiments and a team of friendly volunteers around the country to deliver workshops to children from backgrounds traditionally underrepresented in STEM, with the goal of showing them that science is interesting, fun and important!

This year, CHaOS is planning to visit Liverpool from July 26 to August 1 to run a week of science workshops in local libraries. The workshops will feature around fourteen hands-on experiments, each with a demonstrator. The families will be able to move between the experiments, having a go at the hands-on aspects and discussing the science with the demonstrators. The experiments come from across STEM, and some of the most popular ones include a collection of animal skulls, making mini explosions using lemon juice and bicarb of soda, and building a bridge that the children can walk across.

CHaOS aims to widen participation in STEM by providing children with exciting STEM experiences and the opportunity to talk to real scientists (our demonstrators), thus encouraging them to continue to study STEM and aspire to a career in STEM, and challenging stereotypes around what a scientist looks like. We reach children from backgrounds traditionally underrepresented in STEM by targeting areas with low progression to tertiary education. The workshops are free for families to attend.

We aim to reach 1000 people across seven events with a budget of £2500, meaning the project will cost only £2.50 per person reached. Our largest expenses come from catering for, transporting and accommodating our volunteers. As part of our mission to disprove stereotypes around STEM, we encourage diversity in our volunteering body by covering all costs associated with volunteering.