British Science Week

From British Science Association

Resource type: Event

Price band: Free

Key stage: KS1, KS2, KS3, KS4, KS5

Region(s): All of UK

British Science Week is a ten-day celebration of science, technology, engineering and maths that takes place every year in March. British Science Week 2023 will take place between 10th – 19th March. The theme for this year is Connections.

At the heart of British Science Week is a programme of events organised by schools, researchers, universities and companies that take place across the whole of the UK. The British Science Week website also hosts a number of other resources that can be used in schools:

  • Browse the events and activities taking place during British Science Week, including a BBC Teach Live Lesson on Force on Monday 13th.
  • Download the British Science Week packs for ideas and activities to run in the classroom during British Science Week or all through the year. There are packs for EYFS, Primary and Secondary.
  • Create a poster on this year’s theme of Connections and submit it for the poster competition. The deadline for entries is March 31st.
  • Encourage every student to see themselves as a potential scientist or engineer by exploring the stories in the ‘Smashing Stereotypes’ campaign.

Cost: Access to all the online resources is free. Events may incur a fee.

About the British Science Association: The British Science Association is a charity whose mission is to promote diversity and inclusion in science, increasing the number of people who are actively engaged in science in order to improve our ability to tackle the challenges of the future.

Further resources:

  • The Scholastic Schools Live programme is offering two author events to tie in with British Science Week: Annaliese Avery, author of The Nightsilver Promise and The Doomfire Secret will be sharing her love of astronomy and some top creative writing tips on Thursday 16th March, while Vashti Hardy will be joined by the Lapworth Museum of Geology on Friday 17th March for a discussion of all things fossils, inspired by her latest book Harley Hitch and the Fossil Mystery.
  • Catch up with the Puffin Story Makers World Book Day event investigating how stories and science help us to understand the world. The show is available on demand all through March.
  • Get help finding a speaker for an event you would like to organise, or find an event that is local to you using the Science Live platform.
  • Check out the selection of STEM films and videos for primary and secondary schools from BBC Teach.
  • Science magazines such as Whizz Pop Bang!, The Week Junior Science and Nature, and National Geographic Kids can be great additions to the school library.
  • Good sources of recommendations for books that cover STEM subjects are Books for Topics and LoveReading4Kids. There is also a great list that came out of one of the #OURfPBookBlether sessions on Twitter.
  • Last year’s Gadgeteers Summer Reading Challenge had a science and innovation theme. The Gadgeteers Book Collection is a useful source of accessible reads for primary pupils.
  • Ensure that the achievements of women scientists and engineers are represented in your library with this Women in STEAM booklist from Best Books for Schools and this list of 30 books celebrating Women In Science from LoveReading4Kids.
  • Explore the many amazing ways the natural world influences our daily lives with the National Literacy Trust’s We Wonder: Power of Nature Reading Challenge. With teaching notes, a dedicated book list and a design competition, the Power of Nature Reading Challenge is suitable for pupils aged 7-14. Entries for the design competition must be submitted by March 31st.
  • The Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize celebrates high quality, accessible STEM books for under-14 year-olds and their shortlist is always a useful source of recommended titles for the school or class library. The winner is chosen by panels of young judges around the country. Read about one school’s experience of running a young judges panel and the benefits it brings in our blog.
  • Check out the free learning resources available to accompany computer science adventure story Agent Asha: Mission Shark Bytes. There is also a blog with a list of story-led books that introduce STEM and coding for primary-aged children.
  • Find out more about teaching primary Science Through Story with award-winning primary science teacher and author Jules Pottle.
  • Topical Talk provides free resources to encourage discussions about the key issues facing our world today, including many science-based topics such as climate change, Artificial Intelligence, animal sentience, space tourism and more.
  • The Primary Science Teaching Trust has a wealth of free teaching resources for primary schools. Check out the Pictures for Talk booklet that provides some intriguing pictures and accompanying questions to encourage children to ‘talk like a scientist’.
  • Further your understanding of the specific literacy demands of primary science texts with Just Imagine’s online CPD course – Reading Across the Curriculum: Science.
  • The National Literacy Trust’s Literacy for Learning offers a programme of CPD courses to support effective literacy strategies for teaching and learning across the secondary curriculum. The next Developing Literacy in Science course runs on the 9th and 16th March.
  • Read our blog for British Science Week 2021 looking at the vital role that ALL reading plays in creating the scientists of the future.
  • Apply for one of four Kick Start grants to help you fund a British Science Week activity or event next year. Applications will open in September and close in November 2023.

Visit the resource

britishscienceweek.org

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