Lecturer brings ‘incredible’ world of birds to youngsters

More than 870 children from 20 Sheffield schools took part in the event, modelled on the Royal Society Christmas lectures, and heard a lecture from professor Tim Birkhead.

Prof Birkhead, who is a fellow of the Royal Society and has studied birds for more than 40 years, said: “By showing just how incredible birds are, in so many ways, our aim is to inspire young people, to excite them about biology as a subject and make clear that it is possible to have a career studying birds.”

After the lecture youngsters took part in a number of interactive workshops.

They discovered what life is like to be an Emperor penguin, how to attract birds into their gardens at home and how to examine birds’ nests, skeletons and eggs.

The schoolchildren also got the chance to meet a brood of three-day-old fluffy chick and watched an eagle in flight.

Event organiser Dr Fiona Hunter, from the university’s department of animal and plant sciences, said: “It’s fantastic to see so many youngsters from all over Sheffield being inspired by the wonders of the natural world and having such fun at the same time.”