YOUNGSTERS from Belarus had a day of fun in Warrington including launching stomp rockets with their feet and learning about the planets.
The 13 Chernobyl children visited STFC’s Daresbury Laboratory for an afternoon of educational, hands-on fun as part of a month long stay in the North-West.
The trip, for youngsters aged eight to 14, was organised by the Chernobyl Children’s Lifeline Charity.
At Daresbury they learned about the science of sound using Slinkys and by making reeds out of straws, before 
learning about forces and gravity, launching their own stomp rockets with their feet.
The afternoon ended with a show on the planets and the universe, courtesy of Daresbury’s mobile planetarium, the STARLab.
The charity organises respite breaks to the UK to give the children a chance to live in a cleaner environment and eat uncontaminated food for a month.
Despite being born many years after the nuclear disaster in Chernobyl, these children still suffer an increased risk from many serious illnesses because of the polluted environment where they live.
A four-week trip to the UK can increase their life expectancy by as much as two years, because their immune systems have a chance to recover during this time.
Tony Buckley, head of communications at Daresbury, said: “This is the fourth year running that we have been visited by children from Belarus and, as always, it has been a pleasure to host such an enthusiastic group of youngsters.
“Our guests were really keen to get involved in all the hands-on science experiments and thoroughly enjoyed a fun day of science.”
Pictured: Children from Chernobyl having fun – and learning – at the Daresbury Laboratory.
