CHILDREN are being given another chance to design their own digital dinosaurs after the roaring success of a similar scheme in the summer.
Designosaur is back at Dynamic Earth in Edinburgh for the October break and runs for the rest of the month. It allows children to design their own dino on an iPad, choosing everything from colour to camouflage, before having it brought to life before their eyes. They can then interact with their creation and even snap a selfie using clever mixed reality technology.
Designosaur is part of a packed programme of family-friendly events running throughout the holidays at the attraction, including a final chance for budding trainee environmental scientists to join in Operation Earth this coming weekend. A tie-up with the Natural Environment Research Council, this national programme helps the whole family find out more about how scientists are working to understand our changing planet. On Thursday and Friday, the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology is teaming up with the Asthma UK Centre for Applied Research to talk about pollution in the air and what it means for our health.
Visitors will be able to get hands on and have a go at measuring air quality, see how we forecast air quality or catch air pollutants and explore how much cleaner our air is now compared to the past.
Throughout the holidays, a stunning photography exhibition by Alex Ingle will be on display, documenting the work of UK scientists in Greenland.
Special guests from the Scottish Mineral and Lapidary Club will be on site on Friday with colourful displays and hands-on gem activities as well an opportunity to find out about minerals and our health. From October 26-28, Dynamic Earth will host The Festival of Physics, which features exciting science shows and workshops to celebrate the inventions and discoveries that shape our world and future.
And on October 29, in a free exhibition from the Science and Technology Facilities Council, visitors can discover how scientists are hunting for dark matter and are trying to uncover the secrets of our hidden universe.
Youngsters can explore a model of an underground mine where the hunt is under way and see a mine safety suit worn by researchers to keep them safe 1km underground.
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