Jenna Padgett ● 23rd January, 2026
Hiya! I’m Jenna, the current secretary of Hands On and this blog update is about semester 1 of the 2025/26 academic year.
We managed to run 9 workshops over that term which we are super happy about! We worked closely with girlguiding Scotland and with CHV, another Edinburgh University society. We delivered workshops to a wide variety of ages spanning 4-14 year olds, adapting our workshops to be of a sensible level for the age group.
We ran multiply types of workshops including circuits, forensic science and engineering Lego balloon cars. My personal highlight of the term was a youth group leader telling me a child now wanted to become an engineer because of a workshop. He said it didn’t matter that his car didn’t work as well as others, because he knew what he would change for next time. It is stories like that which make me so passionate about the work our society does.
Looking ahead to this semester, we already have had 3 workshops and it is only week 2! We also ran a new workshop just last night about the human body and anatomy. We are all so excited about this one and it went really well. In February, we have a science engagement training day at Dynamic Earth which is something to look forward to. We will develop new engagement skills and ideas on how to improve our workshops. Overall, last semester was so enjoyable and this semester is off to a fantastic start.