British Science Week runs from 7–16 March 2026 and it’s one of the best opportunities in the school calendar to raise the profile of STEM subjects. But it only works if you plan for it. A hastily assembled assembly and a colouring sheet do not count as enrichment. Here’s how to make the week genuinely impactful.
The 2026 Theme
The British Science Association announces a theme each year that gives schools a focus for activities and events. Whatever the theme, the ideas in this guide can be adapted to fit. The theme gives you a thread to tie activities together and makes assemblies, displays, and communications feel coherent rather than random.
Check the British Science Association website for official resources, activity packs, and the poster competition details.
Quick Wins: Things You Can Do with Minimal Prep
Science-Themed Assembly
Kick the week off with an assembly that excites rather than informs. Live demonstrations work far better than PowerPoint slides. A Year 6 teacher in Sheffield told us their assembly featuring a baking soda and vinegar volcano, a non-Newtonian fluid demonstration, and a balloon-powered car race had children talking about it for weeks.
Simple demonstration ideas:
- Elephant toothpaste (hydrogen peroxide, yeast, and washing-up liquid)
- Instant ice (supersaturated sodium acetate solution)
- Dancing raisins (raisins in carbonated water)
- Static electricity tricks (balloons and hair, bending water with a charged rod)
Scientist of the Day
Each day, feature a different scientist on a display board near the entrance. Choose scientists who challenge stereotypes: diverse backgrounds, unexpected career paths, working on problems children care about. Include a QR code linking to a short video or article. Five minutes of research per scientist, zero lesson time used.
Question Wall
Put up a large sheet of paper in the corridor with the heading “What do you wonder about?” Give children sticky notes to add their science questions throughout the week. By Friday, you’ll have a wall full of genuine curiosity. Use the best questions as discussion starters in science lessons the following week.
Classroom Activities by Key Stage
EYFS and Key Stage 1
- Colour mixing investigation: Using food colouring and water, children predict and test what happens when primary colours are mixed. Simple, hands-on, and messy in the best way.
- Floating and sinking predictions: Collect everyday objects. Children predict, test, and sort. Extend by asking them to make a ball of plasticine float (it’s possible if you shape it as a boat).
- Nature detective walk: Take children around the school grounds with magnifying glasses and clipboards. How many different plants, insects, and birds can they find? Record with drawings or tally charts.
- Build the tallest tower: Using only newspaper and tape, challenge groups to build the tallest freestanding tower in 20 minutes. Develops cooperation, fine motor skills, and early engineering thinking.
Key Stage 2
- Egg parachute challenge: Design a parachute that delivers a raw egg safely to the ground from the first-floor window (or the top of the climbing frame). Tests air resistance, materials, and fair testing.
- Citizen science project: Join a real scientific study. The RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch, the Big Butterfly Count, or iNaturalist all have school-friendly participation options.
- Science careers carousel: Set up stations around the classroom, each featuring a different STEM career. Include a short task at each one. Programming a simple route (software engineer). Designing a bridge from paper (civil engineer). Classifying unknown substances by their properties (forensic scientist).
- Electricity and circuits investigation: Build circuits, test conductors and insulators, design a working torch or alarm system. A practical session that directly covers the curriculum.
Key Stage 3 and Beyond
- CREST Awards: British Science Week is the perfect time to launch a CREST Award project. These student-led investigations take 5–10 hours and result in a nationally recognised award.
- Science debate: Choose a controversial science topic (gene editing, space exploration funding, AI regulation) and run a structured debate. Develops scientific literacy alongside oracy skills.
- Guest speaker from industry: Invite a local scientist, engineer, or technologist to speak to students. STEM Ambassadors (stem.org.uk) is a free programme that connects volunteers with schools.
Whole-School Events
Science Fair
Give children two weeks before Science Week to prepare a home investigation or experiment. During the week, they present their findings on a display board in the hall. Parents come in on the Friday afternoon to view. This is a high-impact event that costs almost nothing and generates excellent evidence for your curriculum file.
STEM Workshop Day
Book an external provider to run workshops for each year group during the week. Robotics for Year 4, drones for Year 5, AI for Year 6. Each class gets a focused, expert-led session with professional equipment that you could not replicate in-house. Our workshop programme is designed for exactly this kind of event.
Inter-Class Competition
Run a school-wide engineering challenge. Every class builds a marble run, a bridge, a catapult, or a wind-powered vehicle. Judge them on Friday afternoon. Display them in the hall. The competitive element drives engagement, and children learn from seeing how other classes solved the same problem differently.
Making It Count Beyond the Week
The biggest mistake schools make with British Science Week is treating it as an isolated event. The real value comes from what happens next:
- Launch a STEM club that runs for the rest of the term
- Display children’s work prominently and keep it up for at least half a term
- Follow up in lessons: Reference Science Week activities when teaching related topics
- Book a follow-up workshop for next term to maintain momentum
- Enter the BSA poster competition: Free to enter, and the process of creating an entry reinforces what children learned
British Science Week is a catalyst. It works best when it sparks something that continues. If you’re planning your week and want to include a professionally delivered STEM workshop, get in touch. We have sessions covering robotics, drones, AI, electricity, 3D design, and more. Every one is curriculum-linked and delivered by specialists in your school.
