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Atoms, Crystals and Diffraction: Probing the Structures of Materials


Highfield Campus



Building: 40 | Staff Club

Room: Garden Court (restaurant end)

Age suitable for:
  • 5 - 7 years-old
  • 7 - 11 years-old
  • 11 - 14 years-old
  • 14 - 16 years-old
  • 16 - 18 years-old
  • 18+ years-old





Get hands-on with these exciting activities exploring the atomically small world of crystallography!

Come and meet Dr. Vicki Greenacre and other Chemistry researchers, and have a go at...
* Painting your name with salt crystals to see how crystals form!
* Growing a crystal garden in a vial - you can watch it grow in real time and be in with a chance to win your very own crystal growing kit!
* Holding gemstones and minerals to see how different crystal structures look and feel, and how they grow in the natural world.
* Making your own crystal unit cells (the really small shapes that make up crystal structures) and seeing how they fit together.

You can also discover how scientists use X-rays to 'see' molecules and atoms, understand how they make up the world around us, and learn why it's so important to understand the world of atoms - they may be small, but they make a big difference!