21st February 2025

British Science Week 2025

It is British Science Week, the 7th-16th of March 2025, a celebration of science, technology, maths and engineering. The focus is to feature and provide entertaining, amusing and fun events and activities for people across the UK.

Theme

The theme for British Science Week 2025 is ‘Change and adapt’. The reasoning behind the theme is change and adaptation are central to science, as seen across all areas of STEM. As populations grow, cities adapt and species evolve to survive in changing environments. Technology has also rapidly evolved, shaping how we live – from rotary phones to smartphones. But we must also adapt our behaviours, especially in how we consume resources, to combat the climate crisis through recycling and waste reduction.

While adaptation can be beneficial, it can also be harmful, as seen with viruses that evolve to better infect hosts. Understanding this process allows scientists to create effective treatments like vaccines. Change and adaptation are essential to both life on Earth and in the universe.

Change and adaptation are fundamental to both the natural world and our technological progress, shaping our future in ways we’re only beginning to understand.

Changes and adaptations in science:

Environmental change: The pollution on the tree trunks created a new environmental challenge.

Natural selection: The darker moths were more visible to predators and were eaten, while the lighter moths had a better chance of surviving and reproducing, resulting in a population shift toward lighter colours.

Polar bears: Their thick fur and white coats are specialised adaptations that help them survive the cold, snowy Arctic.

Throughout children’s schooling lives, science will be a core subject up until year 11 or age 16 so it is an important part of their education for many years. British Science Week can be a great opportunity for students to embrace the fun side of science. Taking part in activities can be an excellent way for children to learn and build their knowledge in the areas of science, technology and maths. A brilliant way to do this is by offering an opportunity for students to take part in practical demonstrations, practical activities are fun and engaging for students and help them to learn at the same time.

This practical idea is ideal for school students of every age!

This activity is not only fun but will make sure children brush their teeth properly and lower their fizzy drink intake:

What you’re going to need: 4 Eggs, a bottle of coke, a bottle of lemon juice, 4 glasses and some sticky notes.

1) The first thing you will want to do is set up your glasses.

2) Then pour half of your Coca-Cola into 2 of the glasses and half of the lemon juice into the other two glasses

3) You will then want to label your glasses with your sticky notes e.g. coke 1, coke 2, juice 1 and juice 2. Coke 1 and Juice 1 will be your eggs that are covered in toothpaste, coke 2 and juice 2 will be the uncovered eggs.

4) Now you need to coat 2 of the eggs in toothpaste and put them into the glasses labelled with the number 1 on, after that place your remaining eggs in the glasses with number 2 on them. After you have done this, leave the eggs overnight.

5) Return to the eggs the following morning and remove them from their glasses, rinse them in water, dry them and then place them back in their respective glasses.

6) Record your findings and discoveries- you should realise that the eggs with toothpaste were significantly less damaged and weaker than the ones without. The egg that was left in Coca-Cola without toothpaste will be stained and may look brown or discoloured. However, the egg that was covered in toothpaste would have been protected from staining and changing colour. The egg that was plunged in lemon juice whilst raw will feel and look worn down and soft, it will be very brittle. But the egg that was covered in toothpaste will be significantly stronger and harder.

The eggs represent your teeth and the effectiveness of toothpaste is proven through this quick and easy experiment.

We hope this activity was fun, successful and eye-opening for your students!

If science is your passion and you’d like to pass your knowledge to the next generation, click here to check out our latest vacancies!