Matthew was delighted to join young constituents from The Orion Primary School at the L’Oréal Young Scientist Centre.

Students from The Orion Primary School visited the Centre, an imaginative laboratory space which gives young people the chance to become scientists for the day, showing them just how creative science can be. It offers hands-on, experiential workshops across a range of disciplines – all designed to build students’ confidence, challenge preconceptions, and demonstrate the variety of careers associated with STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) skills. For over a decade, school groups and over 2000 students have enjoyed workshops looking at topics as diverse as forensics, bacterial evolution, cosmetic chemistry and DNA analysis.

Matthew visited the Centre to see the students at work. Commenting on the visit, he said:

“I was delighted to visit the L’Oreal Young Scienctist Centre with students from The Orion Primary School and join them during one of their workshops.

"STEM subjects are not only fascinating to study but increasingly important and the work that I saw really brought science to life. I hope that after visiting, many of the students will be inspired to study a STEM subject”

The YSC is based in the Royal Institution and receives funding from L’Oréal. It runs workshops throughout the year for groups from schools and also holds events in the school holidays. The Centre caters for young people of all abilities including those with special needs and disabilities.

L'Oréal champions programmes that engage and advance both young people and women in science, by making strategic interventions at key stages. This includes a partnership with Inspiring the Future, which introduces primary school children to female role models working in science, and the L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science programme, which gives flexible grants to researchers in the early stages of their careers.