Vicki Onions, IVF Zone winner

I think I need to say, first of all, how much I enjoyed taking part in IAS – although the number of e-mailed questions was fairly daunting and the speed of the live chats left me physically and mentally exhausted (ok, I may be exaggerating a little here), it was amazing to see the diversity of questions and views on such a wide range of scientific (and not so scientific) areas.

I never ever expected to win it; there were some fantastically knowledgeable and engaging scientists in my zone, so I was totally overwhelmed by it all. So thankyou for giving me that opportunity and experience.

So, on to the prize winnings!  In the original information that I had read on the scheme, the winnings could be spent on communicating science or science education.  I decided from the start that I would spend my money more on the education side of things and I had found a charity called KIND which I thought a very worthy recipient.  Their tag line is “because every child deserves the same opportunities” and this is something I believe very strongly in.

The charity is based in Merseyside and provides additional social and scientific education for disadvantaged children, and their families.  They have a learning centre where children and their families can go to learn in a fun and imaginative way; they also run volunteer programmes and weekends away.  The general ethos, I found, was to allow less privileged children to realise that there can be a better life out there for them and to provide them with the skills and motivation to go out there and achieve that.  That ethos, I believe, is truly worthy of the donation from the IAS scheme.

Whilst not all the children that interacted with us during the course of IAS may feel particularly inspired by science and may baulk at the idea of extra science lessons, an understanding of the subject and practical experience in it can lead into so many different paths – doctor, gardener, science research, chef (think of Heston Blumenthal), vet, electrician, building demolition expert…the list goes on and on.  And so by providing that little bit of extra guidance and experience, in a fun and practical way, it can open up countless avenues of opportunities for these children and their families.  I hope you approve of my decision to fund communicating science in the wider sense and feel it was a worthwhile choice.

Many thanks again and best wishes

Vicki Onions

Winner of the IVF zone