We are excited to announce our theme for the 2024 British Science Week activity packs and poster competition – ‘Time’!
Next year is the 30th anniversary of British Science Week, so this theme celebrates the passing of time since the Week began, and looking to the future!
We’re really looking forward to seeing the activities and events you plan; there were some fantastic celebrations in 2023 including a Family Day at an observatory and lots of activities in schools.
‘Time’ to get planning
Time is key to so many discoveries in science, technology, engineering and maths. Evolution looks at how plants and animals changed over a long period of time, the Earth’s movements show us why we have seasons and different time zones. In fact, the study of all the celestial bodies in our universe are centred around time; we talk about stars and planets being lightyears away – the distance light travels over a year.
Lifecycles are all about how organisms grow and die during their time on our planet. The average human lifespan is almost 73 years. You could investigate the lifespan of other animals, and how they spend their time.
Scientific innovations are also intertwined with time. The passing of time prompted the invention of ways to mark it, from the sundial, to the pendulum clock to digital clocks – where would be without them? Time is also vital in engineering; complicated machines have moving parts that all need work in time with each other for the machine to work smoothly. Can you think of any?
Perhaps you could consider the issue food waste by thinking about how passing time impacts different foods. We need to use this knowledge to reduce food waste, perhaps future inventions will help.
‘Time’ as a theme offers a huge range of topics to delve into as part of your British Science Week 2024 activities. Why not share your ideas with us using the hashtag #BSW24?
We’ll be opening the British Science Week activity packs call for content in the coming weeks, so keep your eyes peeled on our website and social media for further details.
