Young Natural Scientists’ St. Nicholas Afternoon












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            * Young Natural Scientists’ St. Nicholas Afternoon
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            On the evening of 5th December the Faculty of Science of Charles University in Prague held

            to celebrate St. Nicholas Eve. The evening was aimed at families with young children, and 
            a fun night whilst encouraging them to take an interest in science. The students and staff
            ran the stalls which each had a different activity. When you entered the faculty building 

            campus there were two stalls set up. One was a drink stand where they sold interesting bev
            were e.g. cocktails made using dry ice. This was fascinating as it made the drink smoke an
            were however also more traditional hot wines, and soft drinks on offer for the children. O

            of the stairs they were selling science themed gifts, such as T-shirts, mugs, pencils, and
            At the top of the stairs the landing was lined with tables, each with a different activity

            the opportunity to make a Christmas decoration. The children first filled a small pot with
            then added various decoration pieces – for instance a candle, cinnamon sticks, and a pine 
            were all glued in place and then left to set.

            The next stall offered the opportunity to make bauble like decorations for trees. Children
            a selection of Styrofoam shapes and would then paint whatever patterns and pictures they l
            They were then set aside to dry whilst the children visited other stalls.

            There was also the opportunity to make perfume. It was slightly different from how perfume
            is made, but was essentially the same process. First they had jars full of the flavour, fo
            was orange, cinnamon, and pine. The flavour had been left in the jar with alcohol for some

            could ferment. The children picked which one(s) they liked the best and then used a pipett
            small amount of the fermented liquid which was then put into a Petri dish. Once mixed with
            liquid was then heated. Afterwards it produced the fragrance. This fragrance mixed with al

            put into small cases for the children to take home.
            The children also had the opportunity to learn about Dendrochronology. This is the science
            All one has to do is take a cross section from the tree, inside you may have noticed the t

            up of a series of rings. Each ring represents a year in the trees life and so if you count
            tell you how old the tree was. There were several samples of tree trunks for the children 
            they were correct they won a small prize.

            Finally the last stall gave the children the chance to make a cast of a fossil to take hom
            selection of moulds for the children to choose from. Each was taken from a real fossil in 
            collection, including plants and ammonites. The mould was then filled with a plaster solut

            set for twenty minutes. When the child returned a perfect cast of a fossil was removed fro
            mould. I had great fun making one of an ammonite.
            In addition to the stalls there were also three students greeting the children. One was dr

            Nicholas, one as a devil, and the other as an angel. This comes from a traditional Czech c
            Nicholas' Eve where Czech people will travel about the town dressed as St. Nicholas, an an
            and will greet the children. If the child has been good they will receive a small gift, if

            bad they will be given a symbolic beating, coal or a potato. Parents often arrange for the
            their house to treat or frighten their child in a good humoured way. I encountered the thr
            the landing where I received a potato!

            The evening was one of a number of events Charles University's Faculty of Science holds ev
            for Young Natural Scientists, which is a group they have to encourage children to become m
            about science. Other events they hold are e.g. special tours of the science museums in Pra

                                                                                                      
                            Keziah Garratt-Smithson is a second year student currently on an ERASMUS p
                            medieval and early modern history. In her spare time she is a keen reader,
                            minded individuals, whilst having fun and gaining useful work experience.