Five attractions where schools can celebrate Science Week

Science Week officially begins on 9th March and ends on 18th March, meaning you get even longer to enjoy the subject with your school. We look at five top attractions that offer school a hands-on and memorable experience all year round. 

The Postal Museum in London delivers an underground Science lesson in the surroundings of the subterranean railway that once transported four million letters a day across the city and was, until now, hidden from public view. Interactive galleries bring five centuries of communications history to life, and school groups can round off a visit with an exciting ride on the mail train. Science related sessions are available for both Primary and Secondary groups. For Primary a role play session where youngsters meet a postal engineer and work together to build a tunnel can be booked and for Secondary, a workshop looks at how Science ties in to how mail is moved around. 

Learning is central to London’s Science Museum’s mission and it has a vast collection of objects that can be incorporated into a self-led visit. There are also science shows, IMAX films and extensive educational workshops which include the opportunity for students to feel the impact of a Saturn V rocket launch and meet an actress portraying Svetlana Savitskaya, the first woman in space. Also look out for special free exhibitions which run throughout the year.

The Deep in Hull is home to over 3,500 fish and other exotic marine life. After viewing exhibits, such as seeing some of the world’s biggest sharks in the Endless Ocean zone, teachers can book immersive workshops in the purpose-built ‘sea labs’.  Key Stage 1 Science sessions include Beside the Seaside (Lost at Sea) where pupils investigate the diversity of habitats and range of sea creatures. Bite Back, for Key Stage 2, takes a peek into the eating habits of some of the ocean’s major predators, and for Key Stage 3 and 4, sessions looking at the work of a scientist can be booked.

Pictured: Birmingham Thinktank.

Green Britain Centre in Swaffham, Norfolk, offers tailor-made talks and sessions for schools, combined with a visit to the site’s many attractions. Pupils and teachers with a head for heights can climb 300 steps to the viewing gallery of the wind turbine – reportedly the only one in the world open for the public to climb - and experience wind energy from inside a modern windmill. Students can then build their own turbine to see how much electricity they can generate and take a look at Greenbird, said to be the fastest wind-powered vehicle on the planet. 

5.  Birmingham’s Thinktank features over 200 hands-on displays on Science and Technology spread over four floors in the impressive Millennium Point building, which also includes a science garden and planetarium. School sessions include the Colourful Tale of King Opaque, where Key Stage 1 pupils learn about light in the story of a king who transforms his castle to something bright and colourful. Choices for KS2 include Cauldron Chemistry where Thinktank’s chemistry team perform experiments. For Key Stage 3 there’s the Planetarium: Exploring the Atom, and for Key Stage 4 there’s Explore Your Universe.

Let us know what you’ve got planned with your class for Science Week, by sharing your pictures with us on twitter.