The Festival of Social Science came to Edinburgh’s Ocean Terminal in November when shoppers took part in family-friendly activities organised by the University in conjunction with Leith Labs. Image Festival of Social Science 2017 logo Clinical psychologists worked with an artist to engage children in making drawings about conflict and peace. For the whole afternoon, a large dedicated floor space was given over to parents and children of all ages talking, reflecting and drawing pictures, many of which were then put up on public display. Help! My teacher is a Robot! Help! My teacher is a Robot! was the theme of workshops organised by our Digital Education academics. A steady flow of children programmed their own robot, listened captivated to stories about robots, and then shared their thoughts on what the classrooms and teachers of the future might look like. To celebrate 100 years of teaching social work at the University, there was an exhibition of art made by social workers, reflecting how they feel about their job. One of the most eye-catching was a clay sculpture of a social worker trying to climb up a pile of paper before reaching a client. The artworks sparked conversations with visitors, including a foster carer, a young man who’d been in residential care and a young woman considering studying social work. Harmony choir As the Festival coincided with the launch of Christmas at Ocean Terminal, the Harmony Choir prepared the way for Santa’s arrival by singing Sunshine on Leith and Christmas carols. In thanking them, Santa explained to the crowd of around 500 people that the Harmony Choir has done research which shows that singing benefits mental health! This article was published on 2024-07-22
