Last call for primary schools to enter the amazing Big Science Event competition 2018!

Calling all primary schools in Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire, register now for the Big Science Event 2018 by 31st January!

There’s still time to sign up for our hugely popular Big Science Event  – the primary school competition that encourages young people to think creatively about science by inventing their own science investigations, such as ‘Do People Understand Probability’ to ‘Does the temperature of a ball affect its bounce?’ and ‘Which brand of biscuits are the best for dunking’.

Pupils of any year group work in small teams on the science investigation of their choice – it can be as part of a school science week, science club, science lesson or even as a homework project. Investigations might involve any combination of surveys, fair test comparisons, research or data collection over a longer period of time.

The competition culminates in an exciting Finals Day next summer where pupils present their projects as part of a day of interactive science activities.

Sophie Batin, Education Outreach Manager, says: “We believe that giving pupils more ownership of their science investigations can really engage and motivate them. It enables them to see science as something genuinely creative and exploratory and this can help with effective teaching and learning of ‘working scientifically’.”

 

We’ve had some fantastic ideas from groups over the years but know that it can be a bit intimidating to start from scratch. Our primary specialists here at Science Oxford are keen to help out, with CPD sessions for teachers that focus on pupil-led investigation, free online resources and a PowerPoint full of ideas that can be downloaded here. It’s also worth reading a Primary Science article written by our Director of Education and Engagement, Bridget Holligan here.

Science Oxford has been running the Big Science Event since 2010. The initiative has grown from 17 schools and 2000 children participating in 2010 to 44 schools and over 6,000 children in 2017. Last year three amazing young scientists from Wolvercote Primary School won the final of the Oxfordshire Big Science Event and took home £1,000 worth of brand new science-themed Playforce playground equipment for the school.

This year’s registrations are open until the end of January and anyone can enter – entire schools, individual classes, science clubs and home schoolers, as long as they’re aged from 4 to 12.

The Big Science Event is not the only way to encourage pupil led investigation in schools…but we think it might be the most fun!

For more information and to register please visit our Big Science Event info.