The Big Bang Fair was back for 2022 – we were excited to take a coach load of Year 8 and 9 students to the NEC in Birmingham to join the UK’s biggest celebration of STEM for young people. The Big Bang UK Young Scientists and Engineers Fair was full of exciting, interactive activities designed specifically for 11 to 14 year olds in mind, to provide the best careers inspiration, advice and opportunities to meet with real scientists and engineers.
Some of our trip goers and Science enthusiasts wrote about the day:
First up, Nathan H in Year 9. ‘I found the trip to the NEC very interesting because I found out some interesting facts about certain jobs people are doing. While I was at the NEC I saw some interesting apprenticeship/career paths to do with STEM subjects.’
‘At the NEC there were all sorts of big companies such as Specsavers, Network Rail, National Highways, Royal Air Force and NHS. Every stand I went to I learnt more and more about how science is involved in their jobs.’
‘Most of the stands had interactive tasks and challenges to do. We built bridges for National Highways, took a reaction eye test with Specsavers and did some Scratch Coding amongst other things. There were also MAN trucks, an ambulance, a military double decker bus and a National Highways car that you could get in and have a look around, even turning the emergency lights on.’
‘I am glad that I had this opportunity to go to the NEC and to see the interesting Science fair which taught me quite a lot about how much science is behind jobs’.
Kyra, Year 8, said ‘t was a very exciting experience for me. Everybody was so passionate and engaged in teaching people about the new technologies that have been created in our world, to not only help us economically and environmentally, but general simplicity in our day to day lives. The arena was absolutely filled with fun activities and events. There were so many prizes and stickers that we got to collect as souvenirs. We even got some thermal camera pictures of us to take home. The opportunities and resources on offer were very inspiring. There were many apprenticeships to look into in engineering, biology, hospitality, renewable energy, technology and more. My favourite part was getting to speak with large companies (such as Network Rail) and business owners who were invested into making a sustainability change by even just switching energy sources, or planting trees. It was thoroughly enjoyable and I would love to do it again!’
Chris, Year 9, said, ‘I thoroughly enjoyed this opportunity to see uses of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) in the modern day world. The activities were highly engaging and interactive. These activities consisted of, shooting a nerf gun through a board at someone to represent radiation travelling through different elements, making your own railway track from a marker pen where a small robot would then travel across it, building your own Lego creation to be displayed amongst all the others and many, many more! Jack and I were even interviewed about our experience at the big bang fair and why we would recommend it to others. Despite how long it took to get there, what we got to experience was 100% worth it!’
