Science is supercool and experiments are extraordinary. Just ask these pupils who have been playing professor.

Students at William Howard School in Brampton were wowed by a jam-packed demonstration by the British Science Museum which included freezing bananas and inflating balloons at lightning speed.

Staff from the London museum are taking their Supercool Science Roadshow to secondary schools in the area in a bid to inspire pupils and let them see the extraordinary effects experiments can have in their day to day lives.

Science teacher Torri Sullivan, who organises the after-school STEM Club, was pleased with how pupils reacted to the demonstration.

She said: “They absolutely loved it, the competition element and trying to achieve something. It’s just the opportunity of something that is a little bit different to get them engaged and inspired and hooked into the subject.

“The kids were really buzzing and they were talking about it. It was really nice to see them so excited about science.”

Pupils in years seven, eight and nine, were given the chance to take part in some of the experiments and, afterschool, members of the science and STEM clubs took part in a hands-on workshop. Their engineering skills were tested as the teams were given the task of building a self-supporting waterway with a set number of items.

Ms Sullivan, who organised the event with the help of The University of Cumbria told the News & Star why it was so important to host these days.

“It’s nice when its somebody from the outside comes in. They can bring in experience, stories and access to parts of science that we can’t do in the school labs.

“Also, we can’t just do the fun stuff all the time it has to be the academic side, so it is nice for them just to do something purely for engagement.”

She continued: “We can’t source liquid nitrogen, freeze bananas and make the kids ice-cream. It was those extra little wows that we don’t have the capacity to do.

“It opens their eyes to the opportunities that are accessible to them. It helps them see the connections between the work in the classroom and in the real world.”