The ability to adapt to changing conditions is the key to long term survival – from plants to mammals to civilisations themselves! And The Science of Change gives children the opportunity to explore pivotal people and moments in the ever changing landscape of science, engineering and technology. People and moments exemplifying the importance of both adapting to changing conditions and adapting to actively change life – and carefully chosen to support areas that each year group will be investigating at some point in 2024/25 – and tying in perfectly with the theme of British Science Week 2025, “Change and Adapt.”

Workshop Description

A highly engaging, revelatory and thought provoking and informative whole-school programme, The Science of Change can accommodate the whole of up to a two-form entry school in a single day, compromising …

An interactive assembly, Adapt to Change and Change to Adapt, demonstrating how “change” affects (and often improves) every aspect of our lives – and how central science is to that “change”. 

Workshops (one per year group), exploring specific contributions made in relation to particular science strands – and touching on the roles played in those areas by individual scientists, technologists and engineers – with a deliberate and conscious focus on diversity.

The Science of Change is also available in format for KS3, able to accommodate up to 300 students in a day. Find out more information here. 

 - Reception / P1 (Exploring the World): Adapting our Kitchens … How have items in our kitchens changed people’s lives? What’s the science behind some of them? And who are some of the great Kitchen Inventors?

Individual in focus: Sarah Boone, an American woman who, despite being born into slavery, adapted existing designs to invent the modern ironing board!

 - Year 1 / P2 (Materials): Adapting our Clothes … What materials do we use to make clothes? How do scientists adapt these for different purposes? And how might things change in a more sustainable future?

Individual in focus: Empress Leizu, an Empress of China who, the story goes, was the first person to make silk – and who adapted farming methods to share her discovery with others!

 - Year 2 / P3 (Plants): Plant Adaptations … How do plants adapt to different habitats and conditions? How do scientists observe these adaptions? And what role does the Sun play in all this?

Individual in focus: Jagadish Chandra Bose, an Indian scientist who made important discoveries about ways in which plants respond to their environments.

 - Year 3 / P4 (Forces): Adapting for Forces … What do we mean by “forces”? Which forces have particular impacts on our lives? And how do scientists and inventors adapt their work to take account of forces?

Individual in focus: Alexander Miles, who was lucky enough to be born in the free state of Ohio and so not enslaved, and who used forces to make department stores much safer places!

 - Year 4 / P5 (Animals, including Humans): Adapting to Diet … How are digestive systems adapted to diet? How does the human digestive system work? What about the digestive systems of other classes of animal?

Individual in focus: Aleen Cust, born in Ireland and one of the world’s first professional women vets, Aleen cared for the army’s horses on the front in World War I.

 - Year 5 / P6 (Properties and Changes of Materials): The Science of Food Adaptation … What is the science of baking? What roles do reversible and irreversible reactions play in this? And what about states of matter?

Individual in focus: Ruth Wakefield, an American cook who used a range of factors, including temperature, insulation and surface area to invent the “impossible biscuit” – the chocolate chip cookie!

 - Year 6 / P7 (Light): Adapting our Uses of Light … What are the properties of light? How have scientists used these to change our lives? And how do we use light to capture our memories?

Individual in focus: Ibn Al-Haitham, an Islamic scientist, mathematician and astronomer - and inventor of the pin-hole camera.

Every school booking The Science of Change will also receive a link to a package of downloadable follow-up resources.

Science
EYFS - Y6 / P1-P7 / Senior Infants - 6th Class
30 minute upwards
Whole school!
School Hall

FAQs

How many pupils can take part?

The Science of Change! can accommodate up-to 60 pupils per workshop - that's the whole of a two-form entry school in just one day!

What is the format of the day?

We will work with you to plan a timetable for the workshops, to suit the number of classes you would like to include - and around the specific timings of your school day. In a two-form entry primary school (with all year groups apart from Reception taking part in groups of up-to 60), the timetable might look like this:

09.00 – 09.20: (optional) Whole-school assembly, where your visitor will introduce the day…

09.20 – 10.00: Year 1 stay in the hall for their workshop …

10.00 – 10.40: Year 2 come to the hall for their workshop …

10.40 – 11.20: Year 3 come to the hall for their workshop …

11.20 – 11.50: One Reception class have a visit, in their own setting …

LUNCH

1.00 – 1.30: The other Reception class have a visit, in their own setting …

1.30 – 2.10: Year 4 come to the hall for their workshop …

2.10 – 2.50: Year 5 come to the hall for their workshop …

2.50 – 3.30: Year 6 come to the hall for their workshop.

Are there any technical requirements?

Each working space needs to be equipped with laptop/screen/projector, so pupils can view the supporting PowerPoint throughout.

 

Where will the workshops take place?

These workshops require the use of your school hall. 

Are there any other whole school science days?

Yes, you can also enjoy a whole school experience with; Big Science Day, What a Wonderful World, Time for Science, The Connection, or Science Skills

Is The Science of Change! available as a teaching resource?

Yes! The Science of Change! teaching resource pack will be available to purchase and download early 2025 from; www.ascreativesconnect.com/extraordinary-world-days/ allowing you to deliver your own whole-school science day during British Science Week. 

Related Workshops

The Science of Change - KS3

The Science of Change opens with an investigation of how “change” affects (and often improves) every aspect of our lives – and how central science is to that “change”. 

The Science of Change Teaching Resource

A whole-school teaching resouce pack for British Science Week 2025! 

Time for Science British Science Week School Workshops

Time for Science

Time for Science highlights the importance of time in a variety of scientific disciplines, each chosen to complement areas that each primary year group will investigate throughout this school year.