Messy Church Science activity

Kudos to the organisers. They had over 100 people attending as families on this Valentines/Heart/Love themed evening. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves which bodes well for their next planned event at the end of March. I'd like to thank the organisers for the opportunity to engage the public with some of the Institute's science.

I probably had about a third of the families have a go at my heart activity (There were craft, cooking and face-painting activities going on as well at the same time) in the one hour slot. Dee & Dawn (our Communications contacts) provided me with some orange IFR wrist-straps which went down very well with the children (they had to attempt the quiz to get a band).
The activity included calculating a mean and explaining averages and how they are sometimes mis-represented in the popular press, the physiology of the heart, finding and measuring their pulse Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (British Heart Foundation's Vinnie Jone's Hard & Fast CPR and the Red Cross's free Android & Iphone First Aid App) and research findings linking nutrition and cardiovascular health.


The answers to the quiz that I ran are:
Q1. Which is the largest artery in the body?   Aorta  

Q2. Measure your pulses and record them here (and please also put them on the big form for analysis). How do you compare to the average

What is the mean (average) family pulse rate? (i.e. add up all the rates and divide by the number of people) (This was obviously specific to the team)

 

Q3. Name the four main chambers of the heart. Right & Left Atrium (Atria),

Right & Left Ventricle(s).

Q4.If you find someone who is unconscious and not breathing, what are the three steps of hands-only CPR?

Dial 999, Push down on the heart, do it to the beat of ‘Staying Alive’

Q5. What gas is transported from the lungs to the cells and what waste gas is carried back? Oxygen(O₂) & Carbon Dioxide (CO₂)

Q6. What is the name of the device used to restore heart rhythm in heart attacks? Defibrillator

Q7. What are phytochemicals and how could they affect heart health?
Naturally-occurring plant chemicals(reduce chance of narrowed or blocked arteries, keep them flexible & healthy)

Q8. Complete these heart-healthy nutrients: Omega-3 . Fatty acids   .  and Beta-. Carotene .

Q9. Is LDL “good” or “bad” Cholesterol?  “Bad”

Q10. What are the three major types of blood vessel? (and can you say how they differ from each other?) Artery, Capillary & Vein A=elastic & stretches, C= narrow and thin & V=has valves to help return of blood back.

Q11. The study of the heart and it’s disorders is called what?Cardiology 

Update: If you want additional interesting heart information visit this Royal Institution blog post
Update: Excellent Google Doodle (animated) forValentine's Day