Young scientists shine at the Big Science Event

Enthusiastic young scientists from 13 primary schools across Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire came together at the Science Oxford Centre on 17^th June to showcase their scientific questions and investigations at the annual Big Science Event.

A first for the Big Science Event

This year marked an exciting first: Science Oxford’s Big Science Event, a much-loved programme that has been running since 2010 and encourages pupil-led scientific investigations, joined forces with the Great Science Share for Schools in its tenth anniversary year. This national initiative aims to inspire young people aged 5 to 14 years to ask curious questions, run scientific investigations and share their findings.

Curious questions

Demonstrating their abundant curiosity about the world around them, pupils shared and discussed how they found answers as a team to interesting scientific questions, including: Windmill Primary School’s “What surface does a woodlouse find it easiest to walk on?”; North Marston Primary School’s “Which suncream provides the best protection against the sun’s rays?” and Harriers Banbury Academy’s “How can we find out which materials are insulators or conductors?”.

Inspiring the next generation

Francesca MacLennan, The Oxford Trust’s Director of Science Education and Engagement said, “It is incredibly heartening to see so many primary-aged pupils deeply engaged in asking their own scientific questions, conducting investigations and then sharing their findings with others.  This is at a time where UK STEM talent needs are ever rising, as we seek to find pioneering solutions to global challenges such as climate change, electrification, global health and embrace the new era of digital technologies and AI.  Inspiring the next generation about science and engineering careers in these formative years and fostering curiosity is paramount.”

Ian Snell, The Oxford Trust’s Education Programme Officer and event lead, commented, “We are hugely grateful to the teachers who have supported and given children the opportunity to lead their own investigations in their school and build their confidence in science.”

Record numbers

This year, 100 schools from Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire registered to participate in the Great Science Share for Schools. These were among the record number of 835,135 participants all over the world.

Campaign Manager for Great Science Share for Schools Grace Marson said, “What Great Science Share for Schools has shown year on year, is that pupils have a thirst for science. They are naturally curious about the world around them, and given the opportunity through the Great Science Share, they demonstrate that they can ask amazing scientific questions. This campaign puts pupils at the centre of their learning.”

In the build up to the Big Science Event, members of the Science Oxford team visited special events in local primary schools, where pupils had the opportunity to talk about their investigations with schoolmates, parents, teachers and a range of guests working in science, technology, engineering and maths.

Fun-filled, hands-on science

Schools were selected through a fair ballot to attend the Big Science Event at the Science Oxford Centre in Headington for a day of fun with science, while sharing and celebrating their investigations. Children spent time in the Exploration Zone with its range of interactive, hands-on exhibits to inspire discovery, and outdoors, exploring and learning first-hand about life in the ponds at the centre.

Windmill Primary School’s Ms Alice Riddel said,  “You could see the children are passionate about everything they talked about and their experiments, and they were ready to share with others. The children have learned a lot today and they will take this back to their school to share with others.”

The Big Science Event is generously supported by industry partners Diamond Light Source and Abbott. Their volunteers also shared science on the day with discussions around interesting questions of why chocolate tastes different after it has melted and how much sugar is in different foods.

The Big Science Event is one of the flagship initiatives of Science Oxford’s Primary Schools Programme, which supports STEM teaching and learning for primary schools across Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire. Science Oxford is the public-facing brand of The Oxford Trust, and as regional experts in primary science, runs its education and engagement programmes. Science Oxford are co-creators of the Thinking, Doing, Talking Science pedagogy that promotes higher-order thinking skills through rich science based discussion and purposeful practical science.

 

Save the date of 16th June 2026 for the next Big Science Event and Great Science Share for schools!

 

Feature image: Children and teachers from 13 schools across Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire came together at the Science Oxford Centre to celebrate their investigations at the Big Science Event