Pocket Science Festival

“A bundle of fun and excitement. What a way to learn science!”
“Victor Meldrew meets Basil Fawlty. A real entertainer, making poignant observations with style!”
It looks like a funfair. It IS a funfair, but there’s a nugget of science snuck into every game and demonstration. Using a wealth of hands-on activities – from Splat The Rat to the Incredible Machine – The Pocket Science Festival fosters learning and co-operation whilst inspiring young minds with the everyday wonders of science.

Created by science magicians Richard Robinson (director of Brighton Science Festival) and Jonathan Hare (BBC’s Rough Science), this self-contained educational roadshow has been roaming Sussex and beyond for the last ten years. It has evolved into a versatile creature, easily adapted to different environments from school halls to community centres and festivals.

Dr. Richard Robinson is a bestselling author, science busker, and director of the annual Brighton Science Festival. His many years working in theatre and television ensure his shows and workshops are as entertaining as they are educational. 

• Suitable for children aged 7-14 and their families
• Covers curriculum topics up to and including Key Stage 3
• Available as an all-day funfair or individual 1 hr sessions
• For bookings contact richard@brightonscience.com
• CLICK HERE to view quotes from participants

 

Talks

Both Jonathan and Richard have a series of talks which can be chosen as a pop-up feature of the fair. Richard’s talks (see here) are suitable for ages 7+, while Jonathan’s (see here) delve deeper into KS3 and beyond.

 

Workshops

The Pocket Science Festival also visits schools and youth clubs, and can be combined with one of our Jonathan and Richard’s workshops (see here).

 

Stalls

The full Pocket Science Festival experience is set out like a funfair. Pick ‘n’ Mix your choice of stalls from the following:

	Angry Gulls How do seagulls manage to hit their targets so accurately? Learn about the wonders of vectors in a live seagull poo simulator. Not involving live seagulls.
	Voice on a Light Beam Put a voice on a beam of light and transmit it over a distance. Sounds like magic? Actually, it’s the future of telecommunications.
	Moog – Sound Simulations Use capacitors and resistors to put together a synthesiser, and find out the scientific basis behind electronic music.
	Bash the Rat Find out about gravity and forces. The rats slither down the diagonal tube is affected by friction, its weight and the angle of the tube.
	The Incredible Machine Build a machine to send a signal around the room. A great test of creativity, observation, ingenuity and team-work. Explores energy, friction, mass, speed, momentum, levers, pulleys, etc. Watch the Incredible Machine in action on YouTube.
	Guess the Weight of the Cake Cakes of different size and density (some plasticine, some inflatable, etc) are arranged in order of weight. Tests our ability to judge weight, density, volume and area.
	Spaghetti Towers Build the tallest tower, using only spaghetti and marshmallows. Basic engineering, using triangles.
	Marble Runs How slowly can you make a marble travel 18 inches. Use slopes and friction to slow it down.
	Brainbox Electronic Kits Try your hand at making simple electronic circuits to create a fire alarm, a helicopter, a buzzer and more.
	Tangrams Can you make a rabbit from a collection of shapes? What about a cat… or a house? Use your imagination and problem solving skills in this ancient Chinese game.
	Microscopes So you think you’re familiar with your surroundings? Take a closer look and you might surprise yourself.
	Dad in a Bin Dump the parents in the trash with this clever perspective trick and a take-home souvenir.
	Pin the Tail on the Donkey Put your mental map-making skills to the test and how the mind works.
	Make a Frog Call How can you mimic a frog with just a plastic cup and a cable tie? Find out and discover just what sound is.
	Lava Lamp A make-it-yourself ‘lava’ lamp for your bedroom made from lemonade and raisins. Just what is it that makes things rise and fall?
	Deep Sea Diver With simple materials, use pressure and density to make the swimmer dive and swim up to the surface again.
	Egg Drop Challenge Drop an egg from 3m high… without it breaking! Will you build a parachute, a crumple zone or a shock absorber? Invites imaginative use of materials.
	How Many Beans in the Jar? The use of rough approximations makes this and other mathematical questions easy to answer… roughly!
	Human Fruit Machine Three people and three bags containing three fruits make a simple but effective fruit machine. They reach into their bags and pull out a fruit. What are the chances that they are all the same? How should the game pay out to get the best crowds and the best profit?
	Paper Darts Build a dart which can fly straight through a tyre.
	Balancing Toys Find out about centres of gravity while you make them.
	Floating Ping-Pong Ball Experience first hand ‘The Bernoulli Effect’.
	Card Tricks Simple maths-based tricks.
	Rotor Made from drinking straws, using Newton’s third law of motion.
	New Board Games Simple but ingenious strategy games – e.g. ‘Nim’.
	Bridge Building Construct a bridge to span a gap and take the greatest weight, using only paper and sellotape. Experience stress, but only in the mechanical sense.
	Colour Separation Use chromatography to separate the component colours of green, orange, brown or black ink.
	I Scream! Make ice cream from ice and salt, using latent heat.
	Redesign a human What improvements would you make? Discover evolution and evolve some of your own creatures on paper.
	Taste and smell tests Can you identify things blindfolded, just by their smell?