Edinburgh International Science Festival is one of the world's biggest science festivals and it has been held every year in spring since 1989. Students from different schools around the world visit the festival between March 26 and 10 April.
5th, 6th and 7th grade students participated in this festival between 5- 9 April. Irfan Ahmed Ersoy from 6th grade, Sude Ozturk, İpek Demirel, Selin Erol and Başak Sertkaya from 7th grade joined this trip with Vedat Kaya, the Head of the Science Department.
We had a nice flight to Edinburgh from Ataturk Airport on 5th April. In Edinburgh, from the Calton Hill we could see some interesting places in the town: Palace of Holyrood, Old Town, New Town and Arthur's Seat. We crossed Waverley Bridge and walked to Edinburgh Castle. It was breathless. During our visit we had a chance to visit the National War Museum and the Military Prison.
Next day we went to Camera Obscura. We could see many interactive exhibits demonstrating aspects of optical illusions, light and colour.experiments there. We could also experience puzzels, a mirror maze and a vortex tunnel. This project gave us chance to learn about optical illusions, holograms, the origins of photography and about Edinburgh itself.
After visiting this place we walked to the National Museum of Scotland.
On the third day we went to the City Art Centre for the International Science Festival Activities. Our students participated in some activities like ‘Chain Reactor’, ‘ER’, ‘Gadget Factory’ and ‘Mini Mechanics’. ‘Chain Reactor’ is a 10-meter long system which operates with the help of a series of nuclear reactions. In the ‘Mini Mechanics’ activity our students designed some materials using various equipment as if they were engineers. In the ‘ER’ activity, they took part in a surgery on a model like doctors in an operating room. In the ‘Gadget Factory’ they both identified and designed some electrical devices which we use daily but don’t know how they work. Then we went to Edinburgh Zoo which is one of the biggest ones in the world. We saw pandas, penguins, rodents and many other animals. After that we went to downtown on a special Double Decker bus.
On the fourth day we walked to Our Dynamic Earth. It looks like a white tent. It consists of some diagrams, models, videos and simulations that help us observe the distribution of living things in different climate zones and understand how life began in space and on Earth. We examined the life of astronauts and the living quarters in space just in case we would have to live on different planets in the future. We visited different continents through a 5D cinema. In the Planetarium we got information about the planets of the Solar System. We also went to the Ocean Terminal where we had a chance to go sightseeing in that area located near the ocean.
We completed our 5-day enjoyable trip and headed to Istanbul from Edinburgh Airport. We were so happy to spend 3 days filled with different and exciting scientific activities, to learn about a different country, its history and culture, and most importantly to use our foreign language effectively.
