Royal Institution of Great Britain

Igniting a passion for science in schools

Fires blazing, gases exploding and Barbie dolls catapulting across the school hall – these are just a few of the unexpected things that can happen when a scientist from Royal Institution of Great Britain (RI) comes to entertain and inspire a room full of children and young people.

We want as many students as possible to benefit from this experience, which is why we gave a grant of £65,990 to support the RI’s Science in Schools programme. This will help them reach a further 21,000 young people and support 840 teachers in 70 schools in disadvantaged areas across London. It will also help the Institution send schools a science demo kit, resources for teachers and an offer of a funded show.

Our grant of £65,990 is supporting the Royal Institution of Great Britain’s Science in Schools programme in 70 schools across London.
15 Nobel laureates have been attached to the Royal Institute of Great Britain, and 10 chemical elements were discovered there.
So far, 8,500 teachers have taken part in continued professional development sessions and 100s of families have attended community shows as part of the Science in Schools project.

Inspiring teachers

Since the Science in Schools programme began in 2015, professional scientists have engaged around 200,000 students aged from 4 to 14 on topics ranging from stores of energy to explosive food. One student who attended said: “The session today was completely amazing. It’s my absolute favourite school visitor hour ever! It whizzed by…I wanted it to carry on!”

And it’s not just the students who benefit. Alongside the science shows, one of the RI’s professional presenters delivers a continued professional development session for teachers. These sessions help to increase their confidence in creating science demonstrations in the classroom, allowing them to inspire students with practical science in fun, engaging and simple ways.

“The Royal Institution Science in Schools shows help us to achieve our aim of inspiring children and young people from all backgrounds to engage with and be inspired by science. We are working to meet the recent increase in demand from schools in disadvantaged areas for fully funded shows to help children build a lifelong understanding of science and for teachers and parents to understand the importance of science and its place in our lives.”

Daniel Glaser, Director of Science Engagement, The Royal Institution of Great Britain