The secret life of the skeleton

Activity: Disseminating Research Exhibition/Festival

Description

Bone is often thought of simply as an inert scaffold within our bodies, but in reality it’s a dynamic tissue that constantly regenerates: continual, tightly regulated removal and formation replaces our whole skeleton bit-by-bit over 7 years. The Secret Life Of The Skeleton is a family-orientated show created with support from Research Councils UK, that aimed to highlight the importance of a healthy skeleton, discuss why bones can become weak in both old and young, and reveal how we can all help our bones keep in shape. By crushing sweets, breaking concrete and spectacularly shattering bones with tins of beans, Bone Researchers from the University of Aberdeen revealed how bone is cleverly built to keep it strong but light, and how an orchestrated army of cells maintain our skeleton. Presented at Satrosphere Science Centre in Aberdeen, 200 kids and adults participated in this interactive, multimedia-rich show and enjoyed dynamic demonstrations and incredible images, plus took home amazing 3D images and further information. With overwhelmingly positive feedback, The Secret Life Of The Skeleton was a firm highlight of Aberdeen’s National Science and Engineering Week Discovery Day and has already been invited to Glasgow’s Science Centre in June 2010.

Part of a team of 5 DAM members who developed & presented this show following RCUK funding
Period20 Mar 2010
Held atSatrosphere Aberdeen, United Kingdom