Magic summer of science inspires Oxfordshire communities

Science Oxford’s summer tour inspired and entertained families across Oxfordshire, visiting libraries and community spaces in Banbury, Barton, Berinsfield and Cowley. Over 300 children enjoyed free science-themed activities over the holidays, including our popular Science of Magic show!

Thanks to a collaboration with Oxfordshire County Libraries, Barton Community Association, Oxford Community Action, and The Hill Community Centre in Banbury, the drop-in sessions encouraged curious kids of all ages to have fun testing and exploring with our expert team. Families experimented with ultraviolet light, glow beads and suncream, coding a cyber pet with BBC micro:bits, and creating colourful butterflies with ink chromatography. The Science of Magic show investigated the science behind magic tricks, such as – what makes water vanish, or how can an egg swim? Enjoyed by the young and young at heart, there was lots of laughter and audience participation.

It was fantastic fun!

One young visitor thought ‘It was fantastic fun!’, another ‘funny and interesting!’, and many particularly enjoyed the sunscreen UV experiments and learning about colours with chromatography. Through our partnerships, it was rewarding to connect with many families from local communities, while supporting the incredible work of the organisations and libraries. Many visitors made special trips to take part in the activities, and showed interest in joining in other events, such as the libraries’ Summer Reading Challenge with The Reading Agency.

“We have loved working with Science Oxford again, offering families fun and engaging activities throughout the summer. It has been great to hear how many children have been entranced by the activities held in their local library. Children, and some of the parents, found learning about science much more enjoyable when mixed with fun and humour.” Jane Mason, Library Operations Manager at Oxfordshire County Libraries.

Sian Stratton, Community Outreach Manager for Science Oxford, (pictured above) shared, “It was a joy to spend our summer in the community making sure all families have the opportunity to explore STEM throughout the summer. It was important for us to be a reliable presence for as much of the holidays as possible, and families told us they genuinely valued it.”

This project is in partnership with the Oxfordshire Library service, The Reading Agency, Barton Community Service, Barton Community Association, Oxfordshire County Council, the Hill Community Centre and Oxford Community Action.

Science Oxford also visited Oxfordshire Play Association’s Play & Activity Days in Bicester, Banbury and Berinsfield, as well as ‘Planet Power’ eco-energy themed summer workshops at the Museum of Oxford.

See more events coming up with Science Oxford.