There is just one week to go until annual British Science Week (BSW) celebrations begin. 2017 is forecast to be the biggest and best yet – with hundreds of ways to get involved.
Big features of BSW this year include:
- Our partnership with the Zooniverse citizen science project, Penguin Watch. With the help of the public, we aim annotate thousands of images of penguins and their habitats that have been taken over the past three years;
- A partnership with Puffin UK to celebrate the publication of George’s Marvellous Experiments, a companion book to Roald Dahl’s timeless tale of a young boy scientist, George’s Marvellous Medicine – look out for presenter Greg Foot recreating some of the experiments from the book on YouTube and for events in book stores across the UK;
- Run the Solar System: an immersive running app created by Six to Start, with the solar system scaled down to a 10k distance. The virtual race through space is narrated by Dallas Campbell and features clips from the NASA archives. There will also be a live race to accompany the app, taking place at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park on 11 March 2017;
- Demo Day (Thursday 16 March), an annual campaign that aims to inspire school teachers and technicians to explore new concepts, provoke discussions and generate excitement through running science demonstrations; and
- Many flagship events, including ones at Thorpe Park, Warwick Castle and the National Theatre. There will also be a mass participation event with the National Day Nurseries Association for early years children on the 14 March, involving a fizzy rockets experiment.
Many of the goings-on during Science Week are grassroots events and activities, taking place all over the country – from Cornwall to the Scottish Highlands. All public events can be browsed at: https://www.britishscienceweek.org/events/
There are also free activity packs available to download with loads of inspiring ideas to help British Science Week go off with a bang… for schools, community groups, and families!
Finally, we’re pleased to announce our partnership with the Royal Mail, who will be releasing a special BSW postmark to honour the occasion.
Last British Science Week saw thousands of events across the UK, engaging more than 1.6 million people, with activities taking place in schools and communities. 2017 is promising to be even bigger and better.