TV science presenter Greg Foot wowed pupils at Laleham Gap in Ramsgate during a visit last week.
The Blue Planet 2 presenter came to the school as part of the national Great Science Share campaign to get scientists and science leaders and celebrities sharing best practice for education.
Greg spoke to an audience of primary and secondary pupils from Years 5 –10 about his Event Lab Himalayan expedition with a BBC team and fellow presenters. The team carryied out various experiments -mainly on themselves- with many of now shaping cutting edge thinking.
He showed pupils the thick insulating clothes he needed at Everest’s base camp and even higher. They were stunned (via a video) to see that at altitude even eating bread was a challenge!
Greg was particularly keen to explain: “Science is not just about wearing a white coat and working in a lab. Often, it’s about exploring the world and is having real benefits to our daily lives.”
One of the experiments his team did at altitude demonstrated the benefits of beetroot juice for opening up capillaries to assist with the transportation of oxygen. He explained that this is not just a benefit for mountain climbers but for many individuals, even top athletes. Someone like Mo Farah could benefit from this too.
As the session finished Greg said: “I was really pleased to come to Laleham Gap. I got into science because of two inspirational school science teachers and ended up at Cambridge University and then travelling the world. I do like to give back and to see the interest and listen to the amazing questions today shows it is all worthwhile.”
Joshua Payne, Primary Science Lead for Laleham Gap school said: “I invited Greg in after having seen one of his shows recently. I knew he would inspire the children here – and he didn’t disappoint. “Actually it was a privilege to have him in and see the way the children responded to him.”
Shaun O’Brien, head of secondary science at the school, added: “Whilst we do great science here day in day out, it is great to have Greg doing things like this. It does make it real and it does inspire. It really adds to the science we are teaching and the children loved it. It’s ideal for learning.”