The Workshop

(Scroll down for posters and more!)

Over 100 years ago in Holland, a scientist (Heike Kamerlingh Onnes) designed a way to turn helium gas into a liquid - and the temperature of the liquid dropped to -269 degrees C i.e. very, very, very cold: a Cryogenic temperature. He then designed more experiments to find out what happened when he put things in this liquid and made them very, very, very cold too. In 1911 one of these things was mercury and what happened was magical: it could conduct electricity without any resistance! It was a Superconductor.

Modern superconductors can be cooled with liquid nitrogen (at -196 degrees C) as can lots of other things, including sausages, bananas, flowers, tennis balls, metal plates and more. Using such items and lots of liquid nitrogen, various aspects of science and engineering, from material properties to engineering design, as well as the uses of cryogenics, are explained and explored with the students via exciting demonstrations and creative activities. The topics of electricity, electrical power generation and transmission now and in the future and superconductivity are also covered and the workshop topped off with the ever-popular levitating magnet demonstration.

The workshop is preceeded with a look at some amazing female scientists & engineers throughout history (Women in STEM Heroes) and may be supplemented by the Future Grid Challenge.

The Demonstrator

Who's Flying This Thing?!


Jessica Spurrell is a postgraduate research student studying for a PhD in superconducting power transmission at the Institute of Cryogenics in the University of Southampton. She has an MEng Aero & Astro with European Studies masters degree for which she studied at both the University of Southampton and SupAéro, Toulouse, France. She has carried out outreach work through the University of Southampton with the Sustainable Energy Scheme, the Green Power challenge, the Energy Exhibition at the RSA, Dragonfly Day, Generating Genius, TEATime Lecutres, Bright Club, Speakezee as well as working with Out of This World Learning, Stargazing Live, The Winchester Science Centre, Winchester Science Festival, Brighton Science Festival, the Big Bang Birmingham. She has run workshops in conjunction with local primary and secondary schools and for local youth groups such as Beaver Scouts. Through her sponsoring company, Air Products Plc., she has also helped with outreach demonstrations at local primary schools and is a STEM ambassador.


University of Southampton Profile

STEM Ambassador Profile

Speakezee Profile

Bright Club Southampton Performance

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