I’m not sure my interest in Materials started at a young age but I’m sure my interest in science started at a very young age, because I had a father who was also a scientist who pushed me into that direction. I also think that kids naturally explore the things around them and if you can touch or feel anything then you are more likely to be interested in than the things that you can’t. And therefore at a later date I probably associated that with Materials Science.

The fact that it is actually all around us all the time and it’s ever-changing and I think especially when you’re working with kids things that change, things that can be current are much more likely to get kids interested.

I think from a very small age in the same way as I was inspired because it’s something they can get their hands on, they can feel whether we are talking about… We do a session based around the three little pigs and building materials where we are talking about whether they are making it out of synthetic man made brick or they were using natural stone or straw. Then we can start talking about properties of materials and they are things that kids can relate to, so yes at very young age you can get kids enthused. They can go around the Tower finding natural and man-made materials and that can be from a five year old and we do have them as young as five.

I think absolutely not. I think the thing with modern technology is that you can actually use it every day without even realising it. For me, when I ask kids about armour they always say “it’s made of metal because it’s solid and hard”, but you actually get them to think about what we use today by even thinking about police riots. And then for example we have a look at something like this which is very trendy and hip for kids and they never actually quite believe that the stuff in the middle is Kevlar, which is six times stronger gram for gram than steel. And so that’s what we wear as a modern day armour and that really excites a kid that actually they can have something that looks trendy and also protect them.

Well obviously working in a place like this. Actually the Tower of London itself is a unique world heritage site, one of the most famous landmarks in London. And not only that but I have a wonderful armour collection that I can use to inspire children, which is based in the White Tower behind me.

Well to actually use this site and the collections and any famous people who’ve been here to actually inspire children to do science. Whether it’s the collection of the armour or actually the materials of the building itself or for example Walter Raleigh was a scientist here and we actually get the children to help me to recreate the actual experiments he did.

Science at the Tower is taught very practically. Every session is a hands-on session, whether we’re looking at the armour or the building itself or things that relate to the buildings. Maybe it could be looking at the materials that they are made of. The sessions tend to be about an hour and a quarter to an hour and a half and they are set in the context of the kids’ school visit. The teachers stay with them all the time and we actively encourage them to be involved in the session, because if they enjoy it then all the children do too. And it doesn’t matter if it’s a Key Stage 1 child or Key Stage 3 child at some point they will get their hands on something that they would never get a chance to in school setting.