HSL's doors were thrown open for three days in May to celebrate the opening of our new Buxton laboratory.

Lord May of Oxford (President of the Royal Society) formally opened the building on Thursday 19 May 2005. Over 80 VIP guests attended the ceremony including Tom Levitt (local MP), representatives of the local community, Health and Safety Commission Chair Bill Callaghan, representatives of ICB (the consortium responsible for building the new laboratory), and many friends from other UK scientific organisations.

HSL's Chief Executive, David Buchanan welcomed everyone to the laboratory, thanking all those who had worked so hard to make it all possible. Timothy Walker, HSE's Director General, stressed the contribution HSL's scientists make to achieving the aims of HSE's Strategy, before handing over to Lord May for the big opening.

The speeches over, guests had guided tours so they could see for themselves just some of the excellent facilities now available under one roof.

Day 2 was 'customer day'. Almost 300 HSE and non-HSE customers guided themselves around the building using specially prepared booklets which took them to 40 different displays and demonstrations. Marshals were on hand in case anyone got lost. And there was a series of talks on topics ranging from nanotechnology to occupational asthma in the conference room throughout the day.

Celebrations ended on the Saturday with an open day for family, friends and former colleagues. Almost a thousand people enjoyed visits to a wide range of technical demonstrations - many aimed specifically at children. You could view a fly's eye magnified 500 times under the scanning electron microscope, practise being a microbiologist (complete with certificate to prove it), see how noise affects your hearing, or watch custard powder explode. Professor Fiddlesticks entertained the children with juggling and tricks, and a face painter was also on hand to brighten up the day. One eight-year-old declared it the best day out he'd ever had in his life - hopefully a potential recruit for the future!

The outdoor demonstrations had to be carefully planned from a safety point of view, of course, so there couldn't be any full-scale experiments - but they did give a good idea of the large rigs HSL uses. Visitors watched as a full-size test dummy was dropped onto the type of safety netting used to arrest falls from heights. They could feel the heat from a jet fire (at a suitable distance, of course) at the rig used to test how fire protection materials perform. And a manikin faced the perils of a fireball to demonstrate the effectiveness of protective clothing.

With so many people visiting our site and the many displays and demonstrations, planning and logistics were critical. Thankfully, everything ran smoothly and all in all, everyone agreed that the open days were a great success. It was an excellent opportunity to promote our services and expertise to a wide range of customers. Staff too were able to see what goes on across the laboratory outside their usual day-to-day work, and show their families and friends where they go off to in the mornings. But above all, everyone enjoyed themselves and, from HSL's perspective, the events helped bring staff together as a united team in our new facility.

  Back to the top