Column: ​Step into half-term with these free activities across the area

​Two of Bassetlaw’s venues – The Bridge in Worksop and Bassetlaw Museum in Retford – will be hosting free events as part of the Nottingham Festival of Science and Curiosity, which celebrates science, technology, engineering and maths.

Bassetlaw Museum will be running hands-on activities each day that explore construction and engineering; the science of recycling; and playful activities that explore electricity, power and energy, as well as how colours mix and spread.

Meanwhile, The Bridge will be hosting ‘have-a-go’ activities with local employers; a family planetarium show called The Wonder of Space; and the film Start Makers, a behind-the-scenes documentary which follows UKAEA scientists on their record-breaking tests of fusion energy.

If you would like to know more about the festival and the activities that are taking place across Bassetlaw, please visit www.nottsfosac.co.uk.

These events are a great way for young people to explore science through hands-on activities and, hopefully, be inspired to follow these subjects into their future studies or careers.

With the UKAEA’s STEP (Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production) project set to be a huge part of Bassetlaw over the next decade and beyond, it is very possible that young scientists who attend these events could be inspired to be part of the team that will be working in Bassetlaw to produce fusion energy on a commercial scale.

On the subject of STEP, I was thrilled to attend the UKAEA’s official opening of its first building onsite at West Burton last week.

The temporary office building will house the local STEP team and project staff as they work on initial plans to deliver the UK’s first prototype fusion energy plant.

This is the first of many firsts to happen, and I look forward to further developments at West Burton over the coming years.

If you would like to know more about STEP and the UKAEA, please visit www.step.ukaea.uk.