Sheffield schoolchildren's artwork helps inspire the next generation of bioscientists

Working with local artist Steve Poole, the pupils’ artwork is helping to inspire the next generation of bioscientists. This artwork is featured in a new ‘zine’ that has been sent out to every secondary school in South Yorkshire.

The pupils - from Forge Valley School, Sheffield Springs Academy, Westfield Secondary School, Stocksbridge School and Chaucer School - began working with the artist ahead of the University of Sheffield BioFest which was held last November. The event showcased world-leading research from the School of Biosciences, making it accessible to new audiences in a fun and engaging way.

In a series of workshops, pupils from each Sheffield school were paired with a different global challenge. They then created artwork that expressed their hopes, fears, and ideas for solutions, all while learning about how bioscience researchers are working to address these challenges.

The pupils' finished work was incorporated into an eight minute film, which was projected onto the wall of the University’s iconic Firth Hall building in an awe-inspiring visual display during the festival. You can watch the display as well as other films, podcasts and exhibitions from the event at the University of Sheffield Player here.

Now their work has a permanent legacy in the BioFest zine, which captures BioFest 2023’s unique exploration into the world of bioscience. View or download the zine.

Professor Matt Johnson, from the School of Biosciences, said: “Working with local schools around Sheffield has been a tremendous experience for us at the University.

“We’ve been able to talk to school children about the major issues facing humankind in the next 50 years and discuss how our research is addressing those key challenges. In return we’ve been privy to a fresh perspective from keen and creative young minds asking thoughtful and incisive questions.”

Greg Oldfield, Head of Public Engagement at the University of Sheffield, said: “We were blown away by the enthusiasm and creativity of the pupils involved in BioFest. They should be very proud of what they’ve achieved.

“The BioFest zine is a fantastic legacy from this unique festival. We hope it will help inspire the bioscientists of tomorrow, who will play a fundamental role in tackling the challenges we all face.

“We’d like to say a big thank you to the schools and pupils involved - we couldn’t have done it without you.”

Sheffield-based artist Steve Poole said: "Making a Zine is a great way to ask science questions. As we started to pull images and words together we realised that complicated ideas, challenges and potential solutions could be shared creatively.”

“It's also a great way to put the work of young people, researchers and educators in one place.”

BioFest 2023 took place across multiple venues in Sheffield, including specially commissioned arts-science collaborations, installations, a schools programme, three public ‘discovery nights’, four public talks and much more.

Over 225,000 people attended the series of events, which were held in venues including Sheffield’s Winter Gardens, with a further 52,000 views of the BioFest films and podcasts on the University of Sheffield Player.