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 of her, quickly disappearing. The pupils cheered when Alice suggested she do it again. This was one of many, literally, blazing moments in Science Oxford’s Fire Show presented by Alice, from our science shows and workshops expert team, during British Science Week.

 

The amazement and wonder of the ‘magic’ or, in reality, the science of fire is something many of us share, no matter our age. Fire’s mesmerising and magnificent display ignites curiosity about its science, how it works, how to control and use it, and further inspires a broader curiosity to understand more about how the world works. Science Oxford’s Fire Show is a regular favourite in our collection of nearly 30 science workshops and shows on offer when the team visits primary schools across Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire.

Last week, during British Science Week from 10 to 19 March, our team was in high demand and took to the road to deliver various workshops and shows enriching Early Years, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 science and technology curriculum, and to celebrate science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) with 12 primary schools in our region, engaging over 1800 children.

While every day is a celebration of science for Science Oxford, we also love the extra excitement of British Science Week, when many more people from all over the UK rally to celebrate STEM over the ten days. The energy is inspiring!

Creating connections

The theme of this year’s British Science Week was ‘connections’. And connections are exactly what was created – young pupils connected with the wonder of science and the curiosity inherent in being a scientist. It wasn’t all about fire, though. Science Oxford’s shows and workshop include themes relating to other physical sciences, natural sciences, biological sciences, engineering and more.

Pupils connected with the natural world and learned about how animals are adapted to their habitats through our ‘Amazing Animals’ show and ‘Creature Creations’ workshop. They became forensic scientists and performed chemical tests in our ‘Crime Scene Science’ workshop. They explored how sound is made, heard, used and enjoyed through the ‘Sound of Science’ show and workshop. They became electrical engineers and solved faults in electrical circuits in our ‘Circuit Detectives’ workshop. They took a virtual journey into outer space to learn about the night sky and the wonders out of this world with our planetarium shows. And they uncovered the science behind what looks like magic in our ‘Science of Magic’ show.

Book a science show in your school

Although British Science Week has come to an end, our team remains ‘fired up’ and continues to deliver awe-inspiring science workshops and shows to schools as part of our regular offering to primary schools. If your school would like to book a visit from our team, please visit our webpage for more info.

Alice is one of our STEM Project Officers and also runs science clubs Saturday Science Clubs. She is excited about her new Nature Club starting this Saturday, 25 March. Join her and learn more about the natural world around us. Find out more here.

Activity packs

British Science Week is coordinated nationally by the British Science Association. With the support of UK Research and Innovation and 3M, they’ve put together some great activity packs with a wide range of fun, hands-on activities, which you can use all year. You can download these here.