Taunton School was the venue for the inspirational ‘Skirting Science’ event on Thursday, organised by women’s group Soroptimist International Taunton. It was attended by over 230 Year 9 girls from local Somerset Schools and featured some fascinating workshops by local organisations.
Girls aged 13 and 14 hailed from many local schools, including Huish Episcopi Academy, Court Fields School, Holyrood Academy, Chilton Trinity, Bishop Fox’s, Castle, Bridgwater College Academy, Kingsmead, Heathfield and Taunton School. They had the opportunity to participate in some amazing hands-on experiments such as designing a jet engine, exploring the chemistry of cosmetics, discovering the world of prosthetics and orthotics, prospecting for oil using samples from test wells and separating blood proteins.
There were 13 organisations at the science event, each running their own inspiring workshop in the science labs at Taunton School. Local organisations who took part included The UK Hydrographic Office, Rolls Royce, The Met Office, The University of Bristol, The Institute of Physics and venue host Taunton School.
Ruth Demenis from Soroptimist International Taunton and Chair of the Skirting Science Committee said: “Skirting Science hopes to encourage girls to consider the STEM subjects for their education and S I Taunton would like to thank Taunton School for the support and help they have given us by hosting this important event.”
The ‘Skirting Science’ event was first created in 2009 by Soroptimist International in Weston Super Mare and runs annually. Its purpose is to inspire the next generation of female scientists and dispel misconceptions about science and engineering careers for women.
Soroptimist International state their vision as: “Women and girls will achieve their individual and collective potential, realise aspirations and have an equal voice in creating strong, peaceful communities worldwide.”
