Summary
Have you ever wondered how you look to the sun? Or how sun cream works? And why it’s so important to wear? Well, you’re about to find out!
We are thrilled to announce SunView, an exciting collaboration between researchers from the Sunproofed Project and Oriel Science. Sunview aims to raise levels of awareness of the need for sun protection, even in rainy Wales!
Based in Swansea City Centre, Oriel Science brings science to the community through exhibits, workshops, and talks. Due to launch in early 2023, SunView is one of the new exhibits at Oriel Science as part of their new Imaging theme.
Showcasing some of the key findings from the Sunproofed study, Sunview also includes an exciting UV camera. See below for more information!
There will also be the opportunity to test your sun safety knowledge with a short quiz and corresponding educational workshops for primary schools to attend.
It is our long term aim that children will be empowered to enjoy the sun safely helping to bring down future skin cancer rates in Wales and we are excited to show children just how the sun sees them!
To find out more about Oriel Science and sign up for their newsletter to be notified when the exhibit opens, please click here.
You can read more about Sunproofed here.
Chief Investigators
Dr Julie Peconi and Dr Jessica Fletcher
News & Updates
SunView has had a successful launch at the Oriel Science “Imaging” exhibition since July 2023, with 214 attendees from Swansea University and local community! The exhibit has since seen 874 public visitors, many of whom have interacted with our UV camera and had their photo taken too.
We also run a school workshop as part of the exhibition – ‘A Ray of Sunshine’. With 4 workshops under our belt already, a total of 116 pupils from a local primary school have engaged with us and we have 4 more workshops planned. As well as this, the BBC visited the SunView exhibit with a reporter having their photo taken with the UV camera.
Due to its alignment with the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act, Sunview has been selected as a Research Wales Innovation Fund (RWIF) Civic Mission and Public Engagement area case study for External Dissemination.
For more information: SunView selected for RWIF Case Study
BBC Wales Visit for Newyddion Ni
On February 18th, approximately 32 children and two staff members from a local Welsh language school attended an interactive and educational session on sun safety and UV awareness at Oriel Science in Swansea city centre. BBC Wales also attended, with a presenter and cameraman capturing the activities. Amongst other activities, the children explored the effects of UVA and UVB and the benefits of sunscreen using a UV camera and tested the effectiveness of sunscreen using UV-sensitive beads. A teacher highlighted the significance of these sessions, stating, “It is a valuable opportunity for the children to get out of the four walls of the classroom and come here to such an exciting place. The children love to make a mess and are interested in the practical activities which are so important for them to learn.”
The children actively engaged in the session, with one student reflecting, “We learnt about UV light and why suncream is important for us to use.” Another child added, “UV light can damage your skin and make you red, it’s made me want to wear suncream more.” The enthusiasm for hands-on learning was clear, with another student stating, “The session was really interesting and fun.” These activities not only engaged the children but also reinforced essential lessons on sun safety in a dynamic and memorable way.
The session was featured on Newyddion Ni, a children’s news program on S4C, airing on February 19th, further highlighting the importance of sun safety and engaging a wider audience in the discussion.
UV Camera
As part of the Sunview exhibit, visitors will be able to have pictures taken with the UV camera to see just how they look to the sun. The UV camera allows you to see deeper layers of the skin. This includes sun damage that is not yet visible as well as sun damage that is already visible.
The UV light in our camera demonstrates the power of sun cream well as the light cannot travel through the sun cream and shows up black in the image. This is exactly the same as how harmful sun rays cannot travel through sun cream. Watch this video to get an idea of what UV cameras can teach you about your skin and sun protection.
Camera Modes
Our UV camera has many modes, which allow you to see your skin in different ways. These include:
Daylight – How your skin looks normally, like it does in the mirror with natural daylight.
True UV/Woods – These modes show sun damage, pigmentation and the effect of sun cream very well.
Visit Oriel Science to have your picture taken and discover the power of sun cream for yourself.
Before Your Visit
The camera gives off a low dose of UV which is safe and has been medically approved, but we advise visitors to seek advice from their doctor before having their pictures taken if they have any concerns. Please bring along your own sun cream if you have any allergies or sensitivities. Makeup will show up on the camera and may make your images less clear, so we advise skipping it on the day of your visit.
Related Projects
Sunproofed
Sunproofed aims to understand how primary schools in Wales are responding to growing skin cancer rates and to explore the effectiveness of sun safety policies in schools on knowledge and behaviour. Funded by Health and Care Research Wales under their Health Research Grant Scheme, Sunproofed is a 2-year study which runs until September 2023.
SunChat
SunChat, a year study funded by MASI explores children and parents’ perceptions to tanning with the aim of understanding how to encourage children to have healthy behaviour towards tanning and sun exposure from a young age. We are pleased to be doing this spin off project, involving cross-faculty working to tackle a known health problem in a unique way. For more information, please visit SunChat.
Sunproofed+: Transforming evidence into practice and policy
Sunproofed+: Transforming evidence into practice and policy, a Swansea University Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW) Impact Fellowship awarded to Sunproofed Chief Investigator Julie Peconi, will disseminate and share results from Sunproofed. With this grant, the Team will continue to push sun safety up the agenda in schools, the community, and politically so that sun protection receives the same public health emphasis as healthy eating and exercising.
Sun Safety Guidelines
We have been granted funding from The Greatest Need Fund to design and produce sun safety guidelines which will be sent to every Welsh primary school. To see more about what The Greatest Need team do, please click here.
Get Involved/Contact Us
Public involvement is a big part of SunView and our related study Sunproofed. If you are a parent or caregiver, please watch this space for opportunities on how you can get involved.
If you would like to discuss the exhibit or find out more, please contact us via email at Sunproofed@swansea.ac.uk
Contact Details
Trial Manager / Lead Contact: Dr Julie Peconi
Phone: 01792 606226
Email: j.peconi@swansea.ac.uk