This page collects posts made by the South West Regional Officer of the Institute of Physics.

Festival of Physics comes to Plymouth

It certainly wasn’t festival weather, but, on Saturday 17 November, members of the public and students braved the cold and rain for long enough to make it to Plymouth University for the Festival of Physics.

South West schools get an insight into the mysteries of the universe – and the life of an astrophysicist

Secondary school students across Devon and Cornwall were treated to a fascinating insight into an unexplored part of the universe and the life of an astrophysics researcher. Dr Jennifer Hatchell, a lecturer and researcher at the University of Exeter, gave a fascinating and interactive talk to hundreds of school and college pupils and their teachers at [...]

Primary school kids launch planes into space

At the end of June a team of students aged 7 to 11 from Bailey’s Court Primary School, in Gloucestershire, in collaboration with space engineers from SEA Ltd, launched ‘paper space planes’ from a helium balloon into the stratosphere. The whole thing was caught on a camera which parachuted back to earth safely, some 70 [...]

Music and physics collide in Devon

IOP’s outreach team Physics in the Field hit Chagstock Festival, near Chagford, Devon last Friday and Saturday, and proceeded to wow and amaze with physics tricks such as tornado tubes, balloon kebabs and many others. The small music festival hosted around 5000 people over the course of the weekend, and festivalgoers got to see (a delayed) [...]

Kids design a planet at Bristol’s Festival of Nature

IOP South West has had a busy few weeks bringing physics to children and families from across the region. Last month IOP South West’s regional officer Miranda Addey and two member volunteers took the creative physics  activity “ Design a Planet” to BHNC’s Festival of Nature at Bristol’s Harbourside, while last week the Regional Big Bang [...]