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Young Scientists Days 2017

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Venue: Edward Muybridge building, Penrhyn Road campus, Penrhyn Road, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey KT1 2EE
Price: free

Young Scientists Days 2017

We are excited to announce our second Young Scientists Days for children aged 4-11, run by the Department of Psychology.

Parents are invited to bring their children along to learn about psychology and gain first-hand experience of psychological research. Research topics include how we learn about and perceive emotions, how maths ability develops, and how we solve puzzles.

What is it? An exciting opportunity for children to take part in age-appropriate psychology games/research, learn about psychology, and discover what psychologists do.

What would I do on the day? Parents can either stay with their children, or leave them to play games and do research with our team while grabbing a coffee on campus (parents need to stay in the building).

When is it? During half term - so a great, free opportunity for your budding little scientists during their holiday! Each session is three hours long: you and your child(ren) can either come to the morning session (9.00am - 12.00pm) or the afternoon session (1.00pm - 4.00pm) on either day.

When you book, please ensure you carefully read the Information Sheet before signing your child up. Thank you.

Examples of studies

How do children solve puzzles?
In this study we show children a pattern on a computer screen that has one piece missing and children are asked to find the missing piece out of six options. Using the Tobii eye tracker, which a non-invasive camera that records children's eye movements, we can examine where children are looking whilst they do this task which provides further insight into how children solve simple and complex puzzles. A better understanding of how children solve puzzles, especially those who perform better compared to those who do not, will allow us to develop better educational intervention programmes.

Numbers in a line
The ability to say where a number goes on a number line (from 0-100 for example) has been found to be linked to formal mathematical abilities. However, not much is known about how this ability develops in young children. In this study we ask children to place numbers on different number lines. We also give them different instructions to see if this affects their performance. Afterwards we also ask them to solve a few maths problems. This will allow us to better understand the foundations for mathematical abilities.

When and how do children understand humour?
In this study we examine at what age children not only start to appreciate humour but also whether they understand the jokes. Children will be watching short video clips of funny and less funny jokes and are asked to rate the jokes. This study is part of a larger project that examines social communication abilities in typically and atypically developing children.

Booking is essential to attend this event.

For further information about this event:

Contact: Dr Jo Van Herwegen
Email: J.Vanherwegen@kingston.ac.uk

Directions

Directions to Edward Muybridge building, Penrhyn Road campus, Penrhyn Road, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey KT1 2EE:

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