Running from 5^th to 14^th March, this year’s British Science Week celebrates the important role of science, technology, engineering and maths in everyday life.

To celebrate, the University’s Access and Outreach team has launched a ‘DIY Science’ campaign which aims to encourage children of all ages to take part in fun and safe STEM activities from home. Family-friendly ideas include: garden wildlife spotting, exciting home experiments and online STEM sessions run by student ambassadors. Visit the dedicated webpage for more information: www.beds.ac.uk/scienceweek

Alongside these special activities, local school pupils of all ages will have the opportunity to enter an online competition which will challenge them to submit a video of their own home-based STEM experiment using simple items found around the house, such as bread, food colouring, balloons and bottles.

Check out this video for some DIY experiment inspiration from University STEM students and budding primary school scientist, Esme:

To take part in the competition, entrants simply need to upload their homemade science video to the British Science Week page: The competition closes on 12^th March, with winners – who will be awarded with a £50 Amazon voucher – announced on the 14^th March.

CLICK HERE TO ENTER THE COMPETITION

Nationwide, British Science Week’s annual campaign revolves around fun and engaging ideas to inspire the next generation of scientists, and the University of Bedfordshire has always played its part in this endeavour. From last year’s Festival of Science & Engineering to November’s STEM Week, it has been an exciting 12 months for science at Beds.

Roisin Kendall, Access Partnership Manager, hopes the University’s competition will be another hit in a long line of recent science-based successes. She said:

“The University is deeply committed to STEM outreach. We value how the next generation of future scientists can be the leading lights in this field, so it is very important to inspire children and students to see STEM careers as their potential next step.

“We hope families, children and students will get involved in this online competition and show us their amazing, creative, inspiring and scientific skills in action!”

By visiting the official British Science Week website, you can browse activity packs, read the latest news about the week and enter a national poster design competition.

For further information about getting involved in British Science Week with the University of Bedfordshire, visit: www.beds.ac.uk/scienceweek