Older local residents go behind the scenes of Imperial’s research

Imperial recently welcomed Open Age members onto campus to visit the Data Science Institute marking the partnership's first in-person event.

Imperial College London has taken a significant step in its ongoing collaboration with Open Age - a local charity that supports the wellbeing of older adults - by hosting an in-person event for the first time. Open Age members recently visited Imperial's Data Science Institute (DSI), marking an exciting development from the online "Open Science" sessions that have been running since 2020. The event, held at the DSI’s Data Observatory, aimed to bring older adults closer to the heart of scientific discovery and spark engagement with the latest research being conducted at the university. The Public Engagement team hope that this pilot will inspire more behind-the-scenes visits from Open Age members as well as other community groups.  

James Romero from Imperial's Public Engagement team said, “There is a lot of appetite from members of the local community to find out what we do at Imperial. We have seen this from the popularity of the monthly online science talks we run with Open Age as well as our community programme that takes place at The Invention Rooms in White City. However, there is nothing quite like taking people behind the scenes and showing them the facilities and labs where the science takes place to really inspire and start rich conversations.”  

"We were stunned by the beauty of NASA’s images of the Martian surface." Roger Maran Open Age member

The visit to the Data Observatory, the largest of its kind in Europe, was well received by the attendees. One of the highlights was the display of stunning NASA images of the Martian surface on the Observatory's massive, multi-screen array. One Open Age attendee, Roger Maran, said, "We were stunned by the beauty of NASA’s images of the Martian surface... a lively wide-ranging discussion ensued, in part imagining how the multi-screen format could be useful in other projects." 

Alex Jones, a PhD student from the Department of Earth Science shared how he uses the Data Observatory to view the surface of Mars using images captured by NASA’s Curiosity and Perseverance rovers. 

"It was a real pleasure taking part in the Open Age event at the DSI," he said. "Sharing my research with a small group of older members of the community was a really lovely opportunity, and the enthusiasm and curiosity from the visitors made the whole experience particularly rewarding. We had some great conversations, and many of the visitors seemed to really appreciate hearing about the cutting-edge research happening at Imperial, just down the road from where many of them live. Science outreach is always important, but this felt particularly awesome! I'd definitely recommend getting involved to other researchers at Imperial!" 

This in-person event builds on the existing partnership between Imperial and Open Age, which began at the height of the pandemic. Vivienne Mitchell, Open Age’s Senior Coordinator for Hammersmith and Fulham, said, “We first began our partnership with Imperial through the Community Engagement team in White City. Just before the pandemic we started to discuss how the wide range of children’s science activities offered at the White City campus could be adapted for an older audience. When the pandemic hit all our activities moved online and we decided to offer the Open Science talks via Zoom. Since 2020 we have hosted talks on a wide range of topics, including environmental projects, biomechanics, medical advances, space exploration and geology. Our audiences are fascinated by the advances in science and are also able to provide helpful feedback to the speakers.” 

The online programme has been highly successful, with 25 sessions completed and overwhelmingly positive feedback from participants. Attendees have reported increased mental stimulation, curiosity about science, and a desire for more engagement.  

Both Imperial and Open Age are optimistic about the future. The success of last week’s visit has sparked interest in expanding this model, with future plans for more on-campus events in White City and South Kensington for Open Age members and other community groups. The Public Engagement team hopes to offer a blend of campus tours, lab visits, and in-person discussions, in addition to continuing the popular virtual talks, and are keen to work with more research groups. James says, “Open Age members have expressed interest in all areas of science – not just health research like you might assume. So we would really like to hear from research groups that would be able to offer a tour of their facilities and a talk about their research.”