Norwich Research Park at the Norwich Science Festival – from space-grown wheat to TV wildlife expert

Norwich Research Park took a high profile presence at the Norwich Science Festival 2025 where it showcased some of the fascinating science research that is currently being conducted across the campus.

John Innes Centre – a world of wheat and slugs!

Researchers from the John Innes Centre focused on wheat, the most widely cultivated crop in the world providing over 20% of human calorie and protein intake. However, a changing climate, diseases, pests and a growing population threatens the future of this vital harvest.

From the A.E. Watkins landrace collection of bread wheat it hosts – the world’s most comprehensive collection of historic wheat – its researchers showcase a number of interesting live growing wheat lines including the USU-Apogee Wheat, the first crop developed specifically to grow in space! It successfully grew aboard the International Space Station from April to June 2003.

The Entomology Department brought along some slugs to conduct a live trial to highlight the impact pests have on crops and the work scientists are doing to tackle it. The slugs were let loose amongst a variety of wheat seeds to see which ones they favoured to eat.

University of East Anglia (UEA) – a chat with TV’s Steve Backshall and how infants acquire language

Evolutionary biologist Prof Ben Garrod hosted an engaging talk with BAFTA-winning wildlife expert and TV presenter, Steve Backshall, at a sold-out event. He also teamed up with zoologist Dr Jess French to lead a live dissection of a Sahara addax antelope, providing an up-close look at the anatomy of this endangered species.

Researchers from the university’s Developmental Dynamics Lab led a workshop called ‘Little Scientists’ to explore how infants acquire language, from memories and learn multiple languages with ease.

Prof Robert Field, UEA’s Pro-Vice Chancellor for the Faculty of Science, said: “The Science Festival is a fantastic chance for us to inspire young minds to explore the wonders of science. Engaging with the community in this way helps us share our passion for discovery and demonstrates the real-world impact of our research.”

Earlham Institute – digging for microbes and using plants for medicine

The Earlham Institute ran two activities over four days of the festival.

The first, ‘Living Soil’, looked at a collaborative project led by the institute, in partnership with the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology and the Quadram Institute, as part of its Decoding Biodiversity research programme.

Participants were invited to ‘dig’ for microbes, identifying different species in two samples of ‘playdough’ soil. The aim was to teach people what the soil microbiome is and why it’s important for plant health.

The second activity ‘Making medicines in plants’ focused on synthetic biology research led by Dr Melissa Salmon. Plants produce a wealth of bioactives with potential applications in medicine, agriculture and industry. Finding the genes that control this process can provide avenues for the scalable production of these valuable compounds, turning plants into ‘green factories’.

Quadram Institute – showcasing the work of the Centre for Microbial Interactions

The Centre for Microbial Interactions  is an initiative that supports and promotes the ground-breaking discovery research conducted by the extensive microbiology community across Norwich Research Park – one of the largest in the world.

A number of the Quadram Institute’s researchers, who are members of the Centre for Microbial Interactions, presented a range of scientific posters that will be showcased at the centre’s inaugural conference on topics as varied as Battling Biofilms: Investigating the role of maoP in biofilm formation of Enterobacteriaceae, Starship giant transposable elements cluster by host taxonomy, Bench to bedside and beyond: Delivery of Human Studies and Production of 3-Hydroxypropoic acid from seaweed waste.

PhD Student Deus Kamya, said, “It was amazing to connect with so many young, enthusiastic minds and witness the science festival’s influence on their career dreams. One child even told me they wanted to become a microbiologist – a powerful reminder of how events like this can spark a lifelong passion for science.”

PhD Student Raphael Hans Lwesya who organised the Centre for Microbial Interactions microbe trail and activity, said, “I really enjoyed being part of the Norwich Science Festival. The Marvellous Microbes Trail received an even better response than I expected! The turnout was great and it was wonderful to see people engaging with it.”

The Sainsbury Laboratory – meeting the pathogens

Researchers from The Sainsbury Laboratory helped to  introduce younger children to the fun of exploring different types of fruit and vegetables  and connecting them with important crops and plant pathogens. To help the children understand pathogens, each one had a character such as ‘Fifi the Blight’ and ‘Rusty’. It proved to be a very popular stand and the scientists ended up chatting with people of all ages!

Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital – herd immunity and nuclear medicine

The research team from the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital hosted a Herd Immunity Jenga on their stand in the Explorium whilst staff from the Radiology department taught festival goers about radiation, radioactivity, nuclear medicine and working in medical physics.

Anglia Innovation Partnership – how to work in science without being a scientist

Raising awareness of the opportunities for non-scientists to work in the science sector was the theme of an event ‘Life at Norwich Research Park‘ organised by Anglia Innovation Partnership, the campus management organisation at Norwich Research Park. Aimed at young people who are starting to think about their future career, it featured short talks from members of the Norwich Research Park community about their jobs and careers in disciplines as varied as research, marketing, finance, construction, facilities management, therapy, architecture, operations management and nursing.

The talks were followed by a lively ‘speed-dating’ style Q&A where attendees were able to quiz the presenters about their individual roles and the opportunities they have to contribute towards ‘making the science happen’.

Roz Bird, CEO of Anglia Innovation Partnership, said, “As Norwich Research Park grows, so will the number and variety of jobs on offer. And, it won’t just be jobs for scientists. There will be all sort of jobs. It’s important that we share news of these opportunities with the people of Norwich and Norwich Science Festival presents us with an excellent platform for us to engage with young people who are starting to think about their future careers.”

Roberta Hook, Deputy Chief Operating Officer at Norfolk and Norwich NHS Foundation Trust, looks after the day-to-day operations at the hospital from patient admission to the point they are discharged.

She said, “The beauty of today’s event is that we can show young people just how many career paths there are and the different ways they can start working in a research-based environment at both the hospital and across the park campus. Whilst academic qualifications are important, we also showed that a passion for something can open just as many career doors. The important thing is to keep being curious and find out what is really possible.”