Welcome to the British Science Week Communities’ hub!
British Science Week, run by the British Science Association, is a ten-day celebration of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM)! It takes place 8 – 17 March 2024.
British Science Week is for everyone, and anyone can host, organise and participate in events. Libraries, galleries, schools and community groups are just some examples of who gets involved.
This year we have created a dedicated ‘Communities’ hub’ – where we’ll be listing some accessible and exciting ideas for community groups to kick off their British Science Week plans. So, spread the word, scroll down and get stuck in!
We’ve included a Tip under each section to suggest a more specific idea for your community group. But don’t let that limit your activities – you could ask your members what they’d like to do!
If you have any suggestions for this page, please do send them to [email protected] with ‘Communities hub suggestion’ in the subject line. We won’t be able to feature them all, but will pick the ones that are the most useful to community groups.
Accessible activities for all ages
Each year, free-to-download activity packs are produced to provide educators and community groups with some resources for British Science Week.
In 2022, we launched our first Community activity pack to accompany those created specifically for early years, primary and secondary aged students in school settings.
You can download *all* the Community activity packs for a heap of ideas to try out!
TIP Find the activity on page 13 of the 2024 community activity pack. Instead of making individual Season Wheels, why not challenge your group to create one together? You can use milestones from the year ahead to mark each season / month.
For example, did you go to the beach in summer? Use a photo, make a collage or drawing or write a short poem to insert in the ‘Summer’ section.
Countdown to spring with Nature’s Calendar
British Science Week are partnering with The Woodland Trust’s Nature’s Calendar for 2024.
Nature’s Calendar is a list of natural seasonal events (e.g. snowdrops flowering in spring and blackberries ripening in autumn) alongside the date and location they were spotted. It is the longest written biological record of its kind in the UK!
Why not explore your local area and add your observations to the list this British Science Week? We have selected four key seasonal events for you to look out for this spring:
- Flowers open on a hawthorn tree
- Flowers open on a horse chestnut (conker) tree (they can also be white in colour)
- A swallow (bird) when they return to the UK from their winter migration to Africa
- An orange tip butterfly
Visit the Nature’s Calendar x British Science Week page for more information and instructions on how to start recording your data.
TIP If you can, arrange a weekend, daytime meeting with your community group in local greenspace to start looking for the seasonal events.
Alternatively, give each member one of the events and come back next time to talk about what they’ve seen – or not. Remember to ask them to take photos, or even videos!
Caring for Mother Nature
Network for Nature is a programme from The Wildlife trusts in partnership with National Highways to improve habitats across England with the aim of improving the lives and outcomes of people, nature and wildlife.
Why not read more about Network for Nature and find out if there are any projects near you?
Climate Emergency Centres (CECs) are calling on local communities to establish self-funding CECs to bring together people and groups who share the aim of finding solutions to the climate crisis that meet local needs in a sustainable manner.
Find out more about this project – does a CEC exist in your local area?
Does climate anxiety affect your group? An organisation called Conservation Optimism exists to support you to find optimism and hope in, what sometimes feels like a, hopeless situation.
Try using their Youth Resources to start a conversation in your group about how the climate crisis is affecting people’s outlook.
You can also check out their digital Nature Recovery Art Exhibition, where people were asked to create a piece which explores what nature recovery means to them.
Why not host your own exhibition around this theme?
TikTok your way through British Science Week
There are some amazing content creators out there to inspire your British Science Week celebrations. Check out these videos and their profiles to bring science experiments into the palm of your hand…
@big.manny1 The iodine clock reaction 🕰️ #chemistry #science #experiment ♬ original sound – Big Manny
@thedadlab If you mix cornstarch and water #thedadlab #learnontiktok #kidsactivites #parenting ♬ Blinding Lights – The Weeknd
@lavalampfrdy Tiktok Science Experiment: Lava Lamp (10-Faraday) #SCITOKPERIMENTS #NSTF2022 ♬ original sound – Lava Lamp Faraday
@earlyyearsresources Let’s make invisible ink! 🧪 Try this easy science experiment for kids at home. #Art #STEM #ScienceForKids #Science #DIY #KidsArt #LearnOnTikTok ♬ original sound – nada
TIP Find an experiment or activity you can try in your community group. Film and edit your content.
If you have consent from the people involved, you could post it. Or, you could just play around with the TikTok, Instagram, etc. effects. What music sounds best? Have you tried subtitles?
Smashing Stereotypes
Smashing Stereotypes is a campaign that showcases people with jobs you might not even realise are related to science, or those who have taken an non-typical path into STEM.
It also focuses on people from backgrounds underrepresented in the science workforce – if you’re interested, you can find out more about which groups are not proportionally represented in STEM in this article.
Check out the videos to delve into their journeys. This could lead to conversations about your group’s hobbies, and how you could fuse them with science in a future career!
Pearce created an AI-powered personal training app…
Natalie merges creativity and engineering to help protect our bodies against injury
Seyed’s love of gaming is transforming how we learn
TIP Can your group think of anyone in your community who’s job or business has a link to STEM? Get them to interview that person, or research them on the internet and create a profile for them.
Share the profiles you’ve produced with each other – you could even invite the individuals you’ve chosen to sit in the audience for the presentation!