Add 5-14 March to your diaries for British Science Week 2027 and get ready to explore the theme of ‘Creativity’!
Building from British Science Week 2026’s theme of ‘Curiosity’, this year’s ‘Creativity’ theme explores how creative ideas can spring from curious questions, in ways that can powerfully improve people’s lives and change the world around us.
Creativity and the power of ideas
STEM and creativity are often thought of as separate, but in fact, there’s lots of crossover! Being creative is a key attribute for people working in STEM; they use their ideas to invent, innovate, and improve lives.
That’s what this year’s theme is all about. STEM facts and figures can become the building blocks for new, creative innovations that make the world more efficient, healthier, fairer, greener, and also to have fun.
The resource packs for British Science Week 2027, which will be published in January, will explore ‘Creativity: the power of ideas’. Look out for the taster pack available from late September. The activities will give children and young people (aged under 5 to around 14 years) the chance to flex their creativity and creative skills across lots of STEM topics, and learn about how scientists and researchers use creativity every day in their work, from public health campaigns to solving food waste to robotic insects!
Harnessing creativity
Children display creativity from a very young age: we can see it in their artwork; how they devise imaginative games to play; and how they come up with lively stories.
Showing them the link between their innate creativity and ability to have ideas, and how this can lead to scientific discoveries and innovations – demonstrating just how exciting and malleable STEM can be – is what British Science Week 2027 will bring to life.
They are particularly encouraged to think about creative ideas that change and improve lives. For example, a design for eco-friendly buildings, learning about the science of cooking to create tasty recipes, researching pets’ behaviour and thinking of innovative ways to train them, imagining a new sport to keep us fit and healthy – the options are endless!
Relating subjects to children’s lives and their personal experiences and asking them about their ideas to make lives better is a brilliant starting point for showing them how powerful creativity and their ideas can be.
This theme also offers a fantastic opportunity to highlight and celebrate people in STEM whose creativity and creative ideas led them to outstanding scientific advances.
Ideas that improve lives
The theme for the British Science Week 2027 poster competition is: ‘Creativity: ideas that improve lives.’ The competition will give children and young people a chance to come up with their own ideas for making people’s lives better, or to showcase existing innovations. It is a fantastic opportunity to explore and celebrate the role creativity plays in STEM and the creative STEM research and innovation that is taking place across communities, the STEM sector, and beyond – and how it is making a real difference to improve people’s lives and livelihoods.
Support to take part
To support schools and communities to get involved with science, research and innovation, we’re offering a number of different types of funding to ensure we help people in the ways that suit them best.
Schools can apply for an Explore Kit Box – all the equipment and resources needed to run eight enquiry-led activities, or a Curiosity Grant to fund events and activities where children and young people can engage with the concepts, skills and people behind research and innovation.
There are also two funding options for community groups: a Pilot Grant or an Incubator Grant. Both grants are for groups to explore how science and research can improve lives in local areas.
Find out more about school funding
Find out more about community funding
Get involved
As you can see from these suggestions, there are lots of things you can explore with the theme of ‘Creativity’ for British Science Week 2027 – and we’d love to hear from you about your ideas! Please share them with us using #BSW27
*STEM is an acronym for science, technology, engineering and maths