Primary Schools Archives - Science Oxford

Free places on our Thinking, Doing, Talking Science course

We have free and discounted places available on our Thinking, Doing, Talking Science (TDTS) continued professional development course for teachers at the Science Oxford Centre, starting on 6 November.

Inquisitive young minds impress judges at the Big Science Event 2023

Science Oxford’s Big Science Event wrapped up the annual search for Oxfordshire’s and Buckinghamshire’s most engaging and experimental young scientists with the finals on 10th and 11th July.at the Science…

A group of people seated in a auditorium, waving

Primary Science Conference spreads ideas for high-impact science teaching

Thanks to dedicated teachers, hundreds of enthusiastic primary school children bubbling with energy visit the Science Oxford Centre each week to explore science. So, we were pleased to dedicate a…

Science Oxford fires up enthusiasm for science during British Science Week

The Great Kimble Primary School hall echoed with gasps of awe and delight. Alice had just set a puff of cornflour alight and a cloud of fire flashed in front…

A hot summer in the woodland

As summer temperatures reach the highest ever recorded in the UK today, the effects on the natural world and how to look after our green spaces and wildlife is on our all minds. Luckily, we’re in good hands at the Science Oxford Centre with our Outdoor Learning and Ecology Manager, Dr Roger Baker — read his woodland update, and top tips to keep a cool head in these unprecedented times.

Young scientists shine at Big Science Event summer finals

The sun shone for the finals of our Big Science Event 2022 this week. Held at the Science Oxford Centre in Headington on 11th & 12th July, children from 24 primary schools across Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire were competing in this year’s grand final – a competition to find the county’s most engaging and experimental young scientists.

Teachers inspired at the Primary Science Conference

The Science Oxford Centre was filled with primary teachers from across the Oxfordshire and Reading areas on Monday 4th July for the annual Primary Science Conference – the first full day in-person conference since before the pandemic.

A not completely alive Live Lab session

If you visit the Science Oxford Centre for a Family Day this summer, you just might see something unusual. Our pop up ‘Live Lab’ is an interactive space where families get to meet a scientist, student or researcher – or one of our expert team.

British Science Week – back with a bang!

With British Science Week (BSW) just around the corner, we’re excited to be engaging with so many schools and families. British Science Week is a ten-day national celebration of science, technology,…

Centre awarded Learning Outside the Classroom Quality Badge

We are thrilled to announce our Science Oxford Centre was recently re-awarded the Council for Learning Outside the Classroom’s Quality Badge, a seal of approval that shows to schools that…

Do Look Up! Book our amazing planetarium show for your school

The Science Oxford outreach team are enjoying taking our new inflatable planetarium dome to primary schools across Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire this term. It’s an exciting time for science, with images…

Children reach for the Stars with Dr Maggie’s Space tour!

“She encourages you to reach for the stars…” Local school children were ‘over the moon’ to watch a Grand Tour of the Solar System with Space scientist and BBC The…

Inspiring change at the Science Oxford Centre

Science Oxford is delighted to have taken part in ‘Project Inspire’ with the Association of Science and Discovery Centres‘ (ASDC) this spring and summer and inspired change in our Centre!…

Summer woodland delights at the Science Oxford Centre

Enjoying the outdoors this summer? We were delighted to finally welcome back visitors to our Centre this season, where we are lucky enough to have 15 acres of woodlands, grassland…

Wantage Church of England Primary and The Disraeli School win Science Oxford’s Big Science Event 2021

A team of children from Wantage Church of England Primary School Nursery won this year’s Big Science Event for Oxfordshire with their experiment on What makes snow melt faster? and…

Branching out: celebrating National Tree Week at the Science Oxford Centre

Planting trees seems more important than ever under the current circumstances – a chance to create positive change. This year we have been funded by the Tree Council Branching Out…

Anneliese Dodds MP visits the Science Oxford Centre

Anneliese Dodds MP took time out to visit our Science Oxford Centre recently with her daughter for one of our Family Open Days. During the week, the Centre is open for…

Winners of the Big Science Event at Home announced!

Our panel of science-friendly judges have now selected the winners of Science Oxford’s first Big Science Event at Home competition. We’d like to give a big virtual applaud to…

Science Oxford supports Science Centres for our Future Campaign

Science Oxford joins over 40 members of the UK Association for Science and Discovery Centres’ (ASDC) nationwide campaign to call for Government to set up an Emergency Resilience Fund to…

Science Oxford’s Bridget Holligan wins Beetlestone Award

Our very own Head of Education and Engagement, Bridget Holligan has been awarded the 2020 Beetlestone Award for informal learning in science. She talks about her 27 years of involvement…

Update on Science Oxford and COVID-19

Following Government recommendations to minimise the risk of person-to-person transmission of Coronavirus (COVID-19), we have temporarily closed our Science Oxford programme. This means our Science Oxford Centre is shut and…

Science Oxford and COVID-19 Information

Due to the situation with regard to the global COVID-19 outbreak, we would like to reassure you that we are taking action to mitigate risks for those visiting the Science…

Expert Explainers Tell All at the Science Oxford Centre

This term Science Oxford has been involved in a national programme to increase diversity and inclusion in science. We are one of just 15 organisations who are delivering initiatives as…

Science Oxford Centre trialling post-visit activities for schools

The Science Oxford Centre (SOC) team is currently trialling a series of post-visit activities for teachers to try out at school. Teachers have many calls on their time and we…

Science Oxford Centre now open for bookings for summer term

With visits from over 1200 pupils from 21 schools and fabulous reviews from both children and teachers, the Science Oxford Centre is now taking school bookings for the summer term….

Playforce donates generous prizes for our Big Science Event 2020

Playground experts, Playforce are kindly donating generous prizes to the winners of our 2020 Big Science Event competition for primary school pupils. The winning schools in Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire will…

Year in review 2019: One giant leap for Science Oxford…

In a year which saw the 50th anniversary of the 1969 Apollo moon landing celebrated globally, Science Oxford took a giant leap of its own and launched the brand-new Science…

ISEN-sational news for Science Oxford

Sophie Batin, our education outreach manager, has become a member of the British Science Association’s new Inclusive Science Engagement Network (ISEN). This national network aims to support members to make…

E-van trial creates a BUZZ

Electric vehicle mavericks buzzEV are loaning one of their fleet of electric vans to our outreach team to assist in the delivery of our STEM outreach programme to primary schools…

FOREST SCHOOL REOPENS AT STANSFELD PARK

Thanks to the generosity of three Oxford councillors, Science Oxford has been able to reopen a Forest School space in the woodland at its new Stansfeld Park home in Headington….

Teachers! Get a taste of our new education centre

If you’re looking for inspiration for a unique, enriching STEM activity or trip for your class to enjoy, look no further than here. Our popular teacher taster sessions, which give…

Planetarium Tour for Primary Schools is back for 2020!

With 2020 due to be a stellar year for space exploration (SpaceX, Mars 2020 Rover, OSIRIS-Rex) we’re about to relaunch our very own space-themed show tour for primary schools. In association…

Thumbs up for first ‘official’ school visit

Today we welcomed Year 2 & 3 pupils from Oakley Church of England Combined School to the Science Oxford Centre (SOC) – our very first ‘paying visitors’ after the official…

Fabulous feedback from schools

The education team at Science Oxford has been kept busy over the past few months, making sure that our new Science Oxford Centre is ready to go for visits from…

Design student bookmarked for success

See the world differently? Science Oxford does. We employed an A level arts student to get a fresh new look and design a range of fun, eye-catching bookmarks to spread…

Headteacher with a special link to Stansfeld

Andy Spooner is sitting on a stool in our Exploration Zone, keeping one eye on his Year 3 pupils who are zipping about between hands-on exhibits, while also trying to…

New course will help teachers bring creativity and skills to science lessons

If you’re a primary school teacher looking to develop creative and challenging science lessons which encourage children to use critical thinking skills, look no further. We’ve just launched the latest…

Primary schools to battle it out to win science competition

Primary school children from 12 primary schools across Oxfordshire will be competing in the grand final of the 2019 Big Science Event next week – a competition to find the…

A big thumbs up from first school visitors to new centre

What have teachers and children been saying about their visit to our brand new Science Oxford Centre? Over the past few weeks we’ve been running trial group visits to the centre…

Make a difference for Oxford Green Week

It’s Oxford Green Week (OGW) and Science Oxford is lending its support with events and activities for all the family on the theme of One Planet Living. OGW is a…