The University of Bristol held its first open day of the 2024/2025 academic year on the weekend, 26th October 2024. I was among roughly sixteen other student ambassadors for Earth Sciences working that day. We all spanned multiple course programmes (from Geology for me, to Palaeontology & Evolution and Environmental Geoscience) and multiple years of study. Students and their families came by to the department to attend talks in our very own lecture theatre, G25, to then go on student-led tours around the building to visit the Earth Sciences Department's laboratories and the Wills Memorial Building Library. The department's main lab, G27, contained areas where students and members of staff could talk to visitors about university life, the courses provided, and course content. For each programme section was a display and interactive activity. (For us at Geology, we had microscopes and rock thin sections, and a flour-sand press to demonstrate compressional tectonics, but more on that later!)
In the morning, me and another student ambassador attended the main doors to the department. We welcomed visitors and directed them to G25 where the talks and tours took place. It was really refreshing to talk to newcomers who may choose Bristol and/or an Earth Sciences degree because I remember being new to university and Bristol, too. I hope I offered valuable insight to those that asked me questions and helped ease and welcome students that may have felt uneasy or anxious. We had visitors who had come to Bristol from far away, potentially from abroad, and some even on the day such as a family I talked to who came straight from Ireland, who I helped get their bearings in Bristol.
Later on, I helped out in the main lab, G27. I helped with the demonstrations with microscopes and offered my help to anyone who may come by as the event was winding down. Earth Sciences is a rather niche subject choice, so we are all friendly and encouraging between students and with members of staff. Since I am now in my final year, I am working with my supervisor on my Master's project. Our department is really a joy to be a part of, and I hope that came across to all the visitors! Below are some more pictures of what we had to show in G27! There are three images of microscope thin sections (which are quite hard to photograph!) and one of the compressional model with sand and flour (which you may see how 'faults' are formed [these are where you can trace lines where the sand and flour have broken] as compressional forces are added). The thin sections show microscopic minerals in the rocks we had on display. In one photo is a sedimentary 'ooid limestone', made up of 'ooids', small spherical balls of calcium carbonate. The others are igneous and metamorphic rocks with some more colourful images when using the polarising lens.
I really hope to help out at another Open Day or Offer Holder Day in the future if I can!
