Nobel Prize winner inspires children at Catalyst

Former Royal Society of Chemistry president and Nobel Prize winner Harry Kroto provided school children with insights into chemistry at the Catalyst Centre in Widnes this July. The day began with a presentation by Harry Kroto to more than 100 local school pupils.

Following this, the children – together with student volunteers from Liverpool Life Sciences UTC – had a chance to build their own model of C60 Buckminsterfullerene, the molecule whose discovery led to Professor Kroto winning the Nobel Prize.

“Professor Kroto is one of the UK’s most eminent scientists, and it is brilliant that he is able to give up his time to engage local children with the amazing world of chemistry. These sorts of events are why we are delighted to support Catalyst in its work to make chemistry accessible to people of all ages and backgrounds,” said Dominic McDonald, Royal Society of Chemistry Outreach Programme Manager.

Education Manager at Catalyst, Phill Day, added: “It was amazing to see children from three local schools in the presence of a Nobel Prize Laureate for chemistry, who clearly understood and remembered what it was like to be a child with an aspiration to succeed.”