Students throughout the University's science departments – right from Astronomy to Zoology - this week celebrated a decade of bringing fun science to the public.

As one of the few student-run educational science roadshows in the country, the CHaOS Roadshow brings its own unique brand of fun science to adults, children and families, both at the annual Cambridge Science Festival and in tours during the University summer vacations.

At Cambridge Science Festival, the CHaOS event (called Crash Bang Squelch!) is one of the main attractions for children and families, drawing as many as 2,000 people in just a few hours. Each year the event is supported by around 120 student volunteers, enlisted from the group's 1,500 members.

Every summer, armed with water-powered rockets, kiwi fruit, and a skeleton named Boris, a group of about 30 CHaOS members take to the road in a hired minibus. Not only do they set out to explain some of science's intriguing puzzles but they also encourage adults and children to discover the answers for themselves.

CHaOS founder Dr Anthony James, a former Cambridge student who now works for the NHS, explained: “We started the project because there is so much more to science than white coats and laboratories. We wanted to show that it's fun, and relevant to everyone.”

And show they have. Over the last ten years, the CHaOS Roadshow minibus has descended on towns from Scotland to Devon, with events at schools, festivals, bandstands and even a beach! From its modest origins in Cambridge, the roadshow has grown to reach more than 8,000 people each year at venues across the country.

A visitor to a recent roadshow held in Dover said: “I think I learnt more about what my son actually knows about the world around him in the couple of hours he spent with student volunteers than I have done for many years – they opened his mind.”

Kirsty Leake, local Cambridge resident and CHaOS volunteer, remembers visiting CHaOS at the Cambridge Science Festival as a child nine years ago. She recently helped to run the experiments while training to be a teacher. She said: “It's a great chance to get your hands on some fun and perhaps surprising science. The students are lively and they really tailor the experiments for their audience.”

CHaOS is one of the few student-run science roadshows in the country. With no paid staff, the group relies entirely on the enthusiasm of its student volunteers. This informal approach keeps the group fresh and creative, with new experiments and events added every year. The latest development is a “lab on a bicycle” initiative to take experiments out to local schools.

What will the future hold for the group? “Science explains the world around us and impacts almost every aspect of our lives – it's much more than just a school subject,” said Phil Tuddenham, one of the CHaOS organizers, who is doing a PhD in computer science.

“Children need inspirational role models in science, now more than ever, and that's where we come in. I would like to see every University have a student science roadshow.”

Look out for the CHaOS Roadshow at Strawberry Fair on Midsummer Common, Cambridge, in June and on the south coast during the school summer holidays.

More information about the CHaOS Science Roadshow is available on the group's website, http://www.chaosScience.org.uk/.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence. If you use this content on your site please link back to this page.