The Big Bang UK Young Scientists & Engineers Fair is the largest STEM celebration for young people in the country, and this year we were right in the thick of it. Held at the NEC Birmingham from June 17–19, the 2025 event brought together thousands of students, hundreds of exhibitors, and an energy that’s hard to describe unless you’ve been on the floor.
Our Role at the Fair
We exhibited for all three days on behalf of the EKO programme, part of our ongoing work with the Defence Nuclear Enterprise. Our stand featured a robotics challenge where students aged 10 to 13 could build, program, and test robots in real time. No passive watching — every student who came to our stand had a robot in their hands within minutes.
What we noticed, as we always do at these events, is how quickly the initial hesitation disappears. A student will approach the stand looking uncertain, and within five minutes they’re debugging code and trash-talking their mate’s robot. That transition from “I can’t do this” to “wait, let me try something” is genuinely the best part of what we do.
The Wider Event
Beyond our stand, the Big Bang Fair featured competitions and showcases across categories including design, energy, environment, health, technology, and AI. There were live shows, hands-on workshops from dozens of organisations, and the kind of buzz that reminds you why STEM outreach matters. Students weren’t just learning about science and engineering — they were meeting the people who do it for a living.
What Students Took Away
The conversations we had with students throughout the three days were telling. Many had never programmed anything before. Several told us they didn’t think they were “good at technology” — and then spent forty minutes completely absorbed in making a robot do what they wanted. That shift in self-perception is exactly what events like this are designed to create, and it’s why we bring our STEMbotics workshops to as many students as we can.
Why We Keep Coming Back
Events like the Big Bang Fair aren’t just nice to attend. They’re part of how we reach students who might never encounter hands-on STEM otherwise. Not every school can afford specialist workshops during term time. Not every child has a parent who works in technology. These events level the playing field, even if just for a day.
We’re already looking ahead to next year. If your school attends the Big Bang Fair, come and find the Hyett Education stand — we’ll have robots waiting.
