Lab in a Lorry

Kingston University brings interactive science to schools in our two mobile laboratories. Our Lab in a Lorry programme delivers STEM taster sessions that are fun, hands-on and interactive directly to learners. Our mobile science labs visit primary and secondary schools, colleges and community groups across London and Surrey.

Each of our lorry visits is tailored to meet the needs of the learners; prior to our visit we will discuss the required session content to ensure it supports students' learning and is appropriate for the specific needs of the group. Please see below some examples of the type of activities we have delivered to date.

To bring a lab in a lorry to your school, college or community group please contact us using schoolsandcolleges@kingston.ac.uk

If you are looking to cover STEM subjects in greater depth and use a wider range of university facilities why not visit us in our STEM Outreach Centre at the Kingston University Penrhyn Road Campus.

Primary visits

• Plants: Chromatography of leaves, chlorophyll fluorescence, microscopy of structures, pollination.
• Animals and living things: Animal heart rates, anatomical models, thermal analysis of living things & habitats, digestive system, circulatory system.
• States of matter & materials: Dry ice, testing substances e.g. 'oobleck', precipitation, dissolving & mixing, separation techniques.
• Sound: Oscilloscope, tuning forks, wave analysis & pulses.
• Forces and magnets: Magnets and materials testing, thermal change with friction, investigating forces and states of matter, force measuring.
• Nutrition, diet and exercise: Investigate sugar in food and drink, where food comes from, pulse rate and exercise.
• Forensic science: CSI-style investigation using fingerprints, chromatography, blood analysis and light microscopes.
• Rates of reaction experiments: Using simple rates of reaction experiments to look at how we can work scientifically when designing and conducting an experiment.
• Rocks and fossils: Panning and excavating fossils, microscopy of fossils, erosion, rock cycle.
• An introduction to chemistry: density tower, pH change, exploring dry ice.

We are generally able to cover 2 main topic areas in each Lab in a Lorry visit, please do state any areas of interest when requesting a visit and we will be in touch to discuss your requirements.

Secondary/College visits

We are generally able to cover two main topic areas in each Lab in a Lorry visit, please do state any areas of interest when requesting a visit and we will be in touch to discuss your requirements.

• Cell biology: Floid fluorescence microscope, DNA Extraction, histology, photosynthesis analysis, body/insect samples.
• Nutrition, diet and exercise: Watt bike and pulse, sugar in drinks, molecular structure of sugar, the role of a dietician.
• Health and disease: HAL medical patient simulator, circulation, tissue microscopy, anatomical models.
• Environmental Science: Rocks and fossils, water filtration processes, recycling activity.
• Computing: Lego Mindstorm robot programming, virtual reality headsets.
• Engineering: Bridge building and testing, forces analysis, strength testing.  
• Chemistry: Infrared spectroscopy, UV-Vis Spectroscopy, chemical analysis and presumptive tests, molecular structure of sugar.
• Forensic science: Fingerprinting, tool impressions, footwear impressions, presumptive tests, glass analysis.
• Forces and motion: Dynakars, forces measuring and analysis.
• Mathematics: Probability analysis and testing.
• Physics: Trajectory analysis, investigating states of matter, oscilliscope.

Please provide 3 date options and at least 3 months' notice when contacting us to help us facilitate your request.