Message from the Chief Executive, Linda Conlon
Dear Friend,
As we enter the seventh month of the year (how did that happen!), we’re gearing up to welcome back visitors on 10 July.
It’s been lovely to see our team back in full force, perfecting demos, rehearsing shows, putting the finishing touches to new exhibitions and generally getting everything ready so we can do what we do best: provide our visitors with an amazing hands-on experience that’s both entertaining and safe. We’ve continued to engage with audiences online over the past 15 months, but you can't beat the real thing! Certainly, the feedback from our visitors is that they can’t wait to return. We have an exciting programme planned, complete with 21st birthday vibe – see below for what’s on offer.
The science centre may have been closed, but there has still been plenty of activity on site. The NHS continues to use Life’s Meetings and Events space as a large vaccination centre, with nearly 170,000 vaccinations administered to date. Last week, the NHS added a pop-up clinic at the back of the building, aimed at 18-30-years-olds who haven’t yet been jabbed. (See photo below.)
As always, if you have any thoughts, ideas or experiences to share, please get in touch by emailing info@life.org.uk.Sorry to say, but we can't assist with queries about vaccine appointments – all planning and operations are handled by our friends at the NHS.
And of course, we would love to see you over the summer. You are guaranteed a very warm welcome!
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Football fans heading to the beer garden in Life's Times Square to watch the delayed Euro 2020 tournament were among the people who made use of the new outdoor pop-up Covid-19 vaccination clinic.
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Welcome back to Life this summer
Life Science Centre is currently a hive of activity, as the team prepares to welcome visitors back from Saturday 10 July.
There'll be a full programme, including a new collection of impressive LEGO® models by artists Warren Elsmore and Steve Mayes.
And, as the UK prepares to host the COP26 conference on climate change later this year, we’ll be putting the spotlight on the most critical issue of our times. There’ll be shows, demonstrations and an opportunity to make (and take home) wind-powered toys as families explore how they can do their bit to save the planet – and have great fun at the same time. Watch out for a stunning show on the Sphere, our digital globe.
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Science for all
Throughout the summer, Life is offering free entry to hundreds of people from groups that it has established strong connections with over the past few years, including North East Autism Society, African Community Advice North East and local groups for blind and deaf people.
In addition, four Local Authorities (Gateshead Council, Newcastle City Council, North Tyneside Council and South Tyneside Council) will be funding free entry for 1,500 visitors from low-income families as part of a national Holiday Activity Fund to help tackle the financial hardship many face during the school holidays that can lead to hunger.
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Inspired by Life to become an engineering hero
Jenny Olsen, who is well-known to the Life team as a former regular attendee of its weekend Science Sessions for teenagers and its Maker Faire UK, has been chosen as an 'Engineering Hero' in a national award from the Women's Engineering Society (WES).
Jenny, who is now a prosthetics researcher at Newcastle University, has been chosen by WES as one of its 2021 Top 50 Women in Engineering.
As Life is celebrating its 21st birthday this year, if you have a story about someone who was inspired to pursue a STEM career after visiting the science centre, please get in touch by emailing info@life.org.uk.
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Before Life Science Centre has even opened its doors, Times Square is already buzzing with atmosphere since its bars have reopened, plus a pop-up beer garden (pictured) showing the summer's sporting events on a huge plasma screen. Yesterday, football fans gathered to witness England's win over Germany in the delayed Euro 2020 tournament.
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Highlights from #LifeGoesONline
Take a look at some of the latest videos created by Life's team to engage visitors remotely.
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Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for our latest content, and visit the online content hub to find all of our activities in one place.
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Local COVID-19 news
- A team led by Newcastle University researchers based at Life has successfully created a model of the cells found in the lungs that can be used to replicate how Covid-19 infects the airways.
Reported on 21 June in STEM CELLS journal, the research paves the way for broader studies of viral lung infections using a cost-effective system that can easily be manufactured on a large scale.
Read the press release >
- The first evidence of a genetic link explaining why some people who catch Covid-19 don’t become sick has been discovered by a team led by Newcastle University.
In the study, published on 4 June in HLA journal, the team demonstrated that a specific gene, called HLA-DRB1*04:01, is found three times as often in people who are asymptomatic. This suggests that people with this gene have some level of protection from severe Covid.
Read the full news story >
- Academics from Northumbria University and the University of Highlands and Islands are conducting a study to evaluate the usage and efficacy of 'Psychological First Aid' for people working in the care home sector throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.
The free Psychological First Aid training course for staff and volunteers at the forefront of the national coronavirus response was announced last June by the Minister for Mental Health Nadine Dorries.
Read the full news story >
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Securing the future of science centres – have your say!
Covid-19 has reminded all of us just how vital science is. Science centres like Life play a vital role in helping everyone to make sense of a world increasingly shaped by science and technology.
UKRI and Wellcome are surveying a wide group of people to help them write a vision for the future of science centres and you can share your thoughts in their national survey.
Life hopes that the findings of this survey will influence how regional science centres will be funded in the future, following the illogical and unfair way in which they were excluded from applying for funding in the Government's £1.6bn Cultural Recovery Fund. (You can read more about this in a letter by Linda Conlon published in the Financial Times.)
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Science chat with Councillor Irim Ali
Councillor Irim Ali is one of Life's Trustees and Cabinet Member for Community Services and Public Engagement at Newcastle City Council. She appeared on BBC's Lockdown Live TV programme, filmed at Life in late March (pictured above), talking about her fantastic work in combating vaccine hesitancy, so we decided to dig a little deeper about this and other aspects of her work with a Q&A with the Councillor.
You represent Newcastle on the World Health Organisation's Healthy Cities Network – one of only eight UK district councils in the network. What does being part of this network mean for the city and its residents?
I represent the UK on this political platform at an international level. The Healthy Cities framework provides us with support in improving the quality of life for our residents when dealing with health inequalities. It helps us look at and understand the wider determinants of health inequality including poverty, obesity, housing, education, employment and the environment.
In Newcastle we are now adopting a whole systems approach to tackling obesity. In a study carried out in the West End of Newcastle, it was alarming to learn that the life expectancy reduced by several years amongst people living in neighbouring wards, simply because one ward was more deprived than the other.
Life is proud to be the site of a Covid-19 large vaccination centre. What response have you seen in our communities to the vaccination programme in terms of vaccine hesitancy?
Overall, vaccine take-up has been good. But, looking at the people invited from the top priority groups in Newcastle, vaccine take-up for people from BAME communities was 20% lower than for white residents. For me, that is too big of a gap. There has been a lot of misinformation and confusion about what is in the vaccine – it's important that people know the facts about these vaccines so they can make an informed choice about taking them.
What I have been doing is to make sure the messaging that we put out in Newcastle is very clear, easy to understand and available in different languages. Since September, I have been publishing videos about Covid-19 and the vaccine in Urdu. Then, one of my colleagues created a video about getting a Covid test in Bengali. We ran a community campaign to recruit more than 80 Community Champions creating videos in languages including Polish, Punjabi and Kurdish. These people are well connected within their communities and help us get key messages out about Covid and the vaccine and to listen to concerns coming out from their communities to relay back to us to address.
As a parent, how did you find juggling working from home and homeschooling?
Danny's in sixth form, so he was doing his work for A-levels on Microsoft Teams and it worked well. It was the youngest, Adam, he's 11 years old, who needed more of my time. I found homeschooling incredibly difficult, not because of the topics he was studying, but to manage time. I'm a solicitor in Immigration Law and working for my clients was extremely challenging from home considering many of them rely on interpreters to communicate. I was concerned about not spending enough time with Adam.
I have to say, though, that I love the #LifeGoesONline videos – they have been a godsend! And not only has Adam been learning from them, but I've been learning from them, too!
My daughter, Alisha, is 18 years old and she's on a gap year before studying English Literature and Creative Writing at university later this year. With the pandemic, the gap year decision has been fortuitous.
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Support us
The International Centre for Life (Life) is a science village that is part of the fabric of Newcastle upon Tyne and a valued resource to the region. The groundbreaking research and patient therapies that take place here have led to international recognition.
From the thousands of babies born with the help of fertility treatment received onsite, to the patients with debilitating diseases who have benefitted from research and clinical treatments, Life has made a difference to so many. There is nowhere quite like it in the world – a place where researchers, clinicians, science communicators and educators work side-by-side on one site, sharing expertise and ideas and creating a unique circle of science.
The charity Life Science Centre is at the heart of this circle. Welcoming about 300,000 visitors a year, its mission is to help people of all ages, from all communities, explore science and to discover its relevance to their own lives and to inspire the next generation of STEM professionals. This mission has never been more crucial than it is today.
COVID-19 has had a massive impact on us. Please support us so that we can continue to make a difference. Click the button below to make a donation.
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