AN inside look at the workings of wildlife and the huge range of subjects available at one of the city's universities gave hands-on experience to thousands of people over the weekend.
The University of Nottingham and Attenborough Nature Reserve invited the public to learn about a variety of topics, from getting to grips with flora and fauna, through to learning about the history of Greek mythology.
May Fest took over the campus at University Park in Beeston, with staff and students keen to show the local community all the work it does behind closed doors.
Saturday's event offered activities to give a taste of 33 different schools within the campus, from creating a tornado in a bottle in the physics school, through to learning how to bandage a puppy's paw in the veterinary school.
One of the highlights was the chemistry for life event, which saw queues waiting an hour to see scientists show how to create thunder and lightning inside a lecture theatre.
Clare Anderton, organiser of May Fest, said the event was getting bigger and better every year. She said: "This is the sixth year of the initiative from the communities partnership team to break down barriers, welcome the community in and show them what we do.
"As well as the little ones, we have tried even harder this year to engage with older children at senior school or college-level to show them what further education can offer and get them excited about a future here."
Elizabeth Shelton, 5, from Attenborough, said: "My favourite bit was the Greek mythology.
"I like it in the play when the nasty man started to make silly faces."
Her brother Edgar, 3, also had a great day. He said: "My favourite bit is the face painting but my sister keeps trying to scare me with her face!"
For Charlotte Soper, 4, it was all about the sciences.
She said: "I'm having lots of fun. I liked the microscope best.
"I liked looking through it and seeing all the bits close."
More than 5,000 people were expected with 500 staff and students running activities over the campus.
Ms Anderton added: "Year on year this event has grown and I hope even more people keep coming."
Just a few miles away in Attenborough, the Big 50 Bioblitz started on Friday with a mission to find 50 new species in just 24 hours.
The nature reserve has held a number of events across the year to mark the 50th anniversary of Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust, and a previous event in August totted up 90 new species for its list.
But this time the key focus was on the underwater world at the centre, with pond dipping sessions carrying on throughout the day to search for new beetles, dragonflies and other species that were lurking in the depths.
Organiser Tim Sexton said: "The pond dipping platform was where all the action was.
"But with 14 organised walks and talks all booked at capacity, there were at least 250 people enjoying all the aspects of wildlife the nature reserve has to offer."
Beginning on Friday at 6pm, the event started with evening bird song, followed by moth trapping and a hunt for bats. Saturday morning then saw young and old alike get involved with pond dipping, plant identification and looking for ladybirds, before the afternoon session kicked off to seek out butterflies, hoverflies, bees and wasps.
Mr Sexton added: "We may have had a damp start with the dawn chorus but despite the soggy walkers, the birds didn't mind and put on a great show – nature's free concert.
"But despite thinking it was going to be raining heavily all weekend, the sun came out and people came out to enjoy the day."
Mike Hill, a volunteer at the nature reserve, said: "You never know what you are going to find.
"It is brilliant to get people down here to help our understanding of the reserve and to show them the variety of wildlife that is on their doorstep."
Bioblitz rounded off with a family fun day yesterday, offering visitors plant stalls, bird identification, help in the hides and craft activities with a wildlife theme.
Mike Dilger, from the One Show, officially opened a hide and nesting bank for sand martins, which took four months to build and cost £56,000.
Gill Bevington, from Beeston, added: "We have seen lots of people looking and who knows what we will find. It's a great event."
