DRAFT BIG Event Programme 2025

Wednesday 16 July to Friday 18 July Royal Institution, London, UK

Wednesday 16 July

No sessions added yet.

Thursday 17 July

No sessions added yet.

Friday 18 July

No sessions added yet.

Not yet scheduled

Sharing the low hanging fruit

not yet scheduled

Every method of communication comes with a bunch of tips and tricks that seem obvious in hindsight and allow us to achieve better results with minimal effort. This session will bring together expertise from attendees to share those little game-changers that make everything better. From hidden features in PowerPoint to working with stage equipment or posting on social media, there are tonnes of simple things that could take years to figure out on your own but which could be explained to you in just a few minutes. Our goal is to do the latter!

Robin Hayward, University of Leeds
r.hayward@leeds.ac.uk
Sarah Cosgriff, Association for Science Education,
Em Truman, National Space Academy,

Grab a Grant

not yet scheduled

Hear from people who give out grants for science outreach and people who have successfully (and on some occasions unsuccessfully) applied for them and their tips for writing winning applications. e.g. RSC, IOP, STFC... Panel discussion + Q&A

Rowena Fletcher-Wood,
rowena.fletcherwood@gmail.com

Workshop: Using GenAI to Communicate Science Responsibly and Effectively

not yet scheduled

This workshop offers science communicators a transformative journey into Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI). It is more than a surface-level introduction; it delves deep into ChatGPT, ensuring harnessing its capabilities both responsibly and effectively. Participants will learn how to guide GenAI models to produce the desired outputs and tailor its responses, ensuring the GenAI conveys scientific information in a precise, accurate, and engaging manner; in addition to critically discuss scientific information validation, AI-generated content biases, and other ethical considerations. By the end of the workshop, the participants will be equipped with a new tools and techniques to revolutionize their way communicating science through GenAI.

Mohamed Elsonbaty Ramadan, SciComm-AI
mohamed.elsonpaty@gmail.com

Making Music with Chemistry

not yet scheduled

A hands-on hour long workshop for educators to see how The MoSAIC has helped young people see how creative chemistry can be. Starting with experiments to determine the reactivity of metals and how to test for hydrogen gas, participants will sample the ‘pop’ created by the hydrogen test in different sized vessels and use the samples to create their own melodies. Not only does this give young people a deeper interest in, and a better understanding of, the underlying chemistry but also the physics of how sounds are produced. All brought together using music technology.

Gareth Campbell, The MoSAIC
info@themosaic.uk

Lessons in Origami

not yet scheduled

This session begins with a brief overview of my journey in science communication since winning the Josh Award in 2024. I will reflect on what I believe works well, areas for improvement, and provide suggestions for different outreach scenarios. Attendees are encouraged to participate in an open discussion, sharing their thoughts and experiences on topics such as finding outreach opportunities, developing effective sessions, and gathering meaningful feedback. The session concludes with a hands-on paper-folding workshop, designed to be accessible and engaging for all participants. This session may be particularly helpful for individuals who have another job but are also interested in developing their skills or pursuing careers in science communication. Please get in touch using the email address below if you are interested in co-facilitating this session. No prior experience with origami is needed!

Chenying Liu, University of Oxford
chenying.liu@chch.ox.ac.uk

story time

not yet scheduled

Story time Storytelling is a popular way of sharing science. The best way to see how it can work is to hear some stories. This informal session wont ask how stories work, teach you to tell them or explain how techniques can be used in sci comm. It's just a chance to hear some old and new stories over lunch. Bring a story if you have one or just bring your dinner and listen

James Piercy,
mailthepiercy@gmail.com

Super Soils!

not yet scheduled

It's not just mud! Soils are an essential but often overlooked part of our natural world. Come along to discover why soil is important through a range of hands on activities and how it connects to wider STEM.

Rachel Dunbar, The King's Foundation
rachel.dunbar@kings-foundation.org

Working Outside Your Comfort Zone

not yet scheduled

MORE CONTRIBUTORS NEEDED! If you have recently done a project which took you outside your comfort zone to a new audience or topic PLEASE EMAIL ME! This workshop aims to encourage us to work with new audiences and take up new challenges. I anticipate a panel of ~4 to share a specific experience before opening for the audience to share and discuss. Sarah: After a long time writing science activities for children, families and teachers, I had the opportunity to write a popular science book for adults. A new style of writing and a completely different audience, but surely a simple task?

Sarah Bearchell, Freelance
sarah@childrens-science.co.uk

Teaching coding, bit by (micro)bit

not yet scheduled

The BBC micro:bit is a great platform for teaching coding and more, enabling learning through trial and error, creative problem solving and delivering highly interactive experiences. At King’s we use these to teach the basics of robotics, but they can also be used as data-loggers, environmental sensors and so much more. In this interactive session, we’ll show you how we use micro:bits, but we’d also love for others to bring along micro:bit projects to share. People with no experience are also welcome to come along ready to learn the basics and see how you could use them in future projects. Micro:bits will be provided to use, but please bring a laptop if you’d like to try out some coding! We are very happy to partner with others to develop and deliver this session.

Peter Gallivan, King's College London, Faculty of Natural, Mathematical and Engineering Science
peter.gallivan@kcl.ac.uk
Joana Leitao King's College London, Faculty of Natural, Mathematical and Engineering Science