Life Sciences at BBC Blue Peters Big Olympic Tour

The live BBC event has been following the Olympic Torch around the UK for the nine Saturdays running up to the start of the Games.  Visitors to the shows are able to engage with the presenters and take part in a range of sport-themed activities designed to inspire interest in the upcoming Olympic games.

The School of Life Sciences hosted a tent of sport related science challenges for children at the event called ’Going for Gold’.  The interactive activities run by academics and students from the School were designed to demonstrate the ways in which science helps world-class athletes achieve maximum performance.  

The activity stations included a ‘250m Sprint’ on a static cycle called the Velotron that enables participants to race an on-screen avatar; ‘Footwear Grip’, which explores how different surface textures can affect grip and ‘Make Your Own Sports Drink’ where participants mix their own Isotonic, Hypertonic and Hypotonic recovery drinks.  Blue Peter presenters Helen Skelton and Barney Harwood visited the Northumbria tent and tried out the cycle sprint challenge.

Julie Edgar, Associate Dean (Region Engagement and Partnerships), has worked with BBC on this project. She said: “Participating in Blue Peter’s Big Olympic Tour is an opportunity for the public to get involved with a number of activities and highlight the wide range of sports sciences, and nutritional activities within the School of Life Sciences.

“The audiences at the live broadcast were able to see examples of the ways in which Olympic-calibre athletes benefit from the work of Northumbria University scientists in various fields.”