In December 2022, HSRU’s Public Engagement Group (PEG) sent out a Christmas clinical trial activity to one of the local schools in Stonehaven. In the activity pack they included an information leaflet, giving an overview of what clinical trials are and why they are so important, and an activity sheet asking pupils to design a Christmas Clinical Trial.
The P4 pupils (age 7-8) were provided with the following scenario about a trial for Santa’s Reindeer and were asked to describe it in their own imaginative way:
‘Reindeer must fly long distances to deliver Santa’s presents across the world. So, it is important they are well fed so they have enough energy for their Christmas journey. The elves want to know whether the reindeer find carrots or porridge more filling. The elves will be blindfolded when they give the reindeer their breakfast, so they won’t know whether they are giving the reindeer carrots or porridge before they start their journey. The elves will then count how many times the reindeer need to stop for a snack to see which one is the most filling’.
PEG were delighted to receive lots of fantastic drawings and stories from the P4 pupils. Having reviewed all the submissions, they chose the 4 winners, which you can see in Images 1 and 2.
PEG enjoys looking for different ways and opportunities to engage with and help young children learn more about how clinical trials are conducted!