BIG Event 2026 - Programme

This year we were overwhelmed by the excitement and number of proposals we received, and want to thank everyone who submitted. You made our committee think long and hard about their decisions!

Also not listed below are exciting sessions from the Josh & Beetlestone Awards, the Best Demo Competition, an exciting keynote and the return of I Saw This and Though of You! 

The Best Demo Competition will take place on Thursday 16th July at 5pm - 6.30pm. 

If you are interested in being part of any of these sessions, please reach out to event@big.uk.com, and we can link you with the proposers.

Wednesday Sessions

Thursday Sessions

Friday Sessions

Wednesday 15th July

Session 1 - 2pm - 3pm

Presentation Skills for Public Speakers
Martin Khechara, Matt Williamson & Kathryn Boast

No-one wants to give a bad presentation or dull talk. Maybe you hate the idea, maybe you’re scared, or maybe you just wish you could do it better. So what do you do? This session introduces the fundamentals of engaging an audience – things like making slides that don’t put people to sleep, overcoming nerves, and having stage presence that makes people sit up and listen. We’ll go through getting ready for it, being ready for it, and actually doing it! This session is perfect for those new to presenting, or those wanting to uncover what makes the best speakers shine.

Unplugged Thinking: Igniting Computational Skills Through Play

Hannah Hagon (Online Speaker)

This session will immerse attendees in playful, sensory, screen-free activities that teach the principles of computational thinking through the power of embodied cognition. Participants will actively engage in challenges that demonstrate how children learn to decompose problems, spot patterns, and design simple algorithms—all through hands-on play. The session will also explore ways to embed these approaches into schools, family learning, and community programs, giving attendees tools to transform their own practice. Expect laughter, lightbulb moments, and tangible takeaways you can use the next day.

Making Connections: Training Scientists for Meaningful, Inclusive Encounters

Lorraine Coghill, Erin McNeill, Shanti Pise, Claire Irving

Meaningful personal connections sit at the heart of impactful science communication. This interactive session invites participants to explore how we train and support others to build skills and practice, whilst critically, building confidence and comfort in creating these human connections.

Drawing on insights from a collaborative programme involving scientists, creative practitioners, and the immersive Moon Palace, we’ll share practical learning and real-world examples. Over Cosmic Tea, we invite you to share your experiences, exploring what’s worked (and not), and examining how to evaluate 'connections'. Together, we’ll champion ensuring meaningful connections are not left to chance, but designed, nurtured and celebrated.

Access, Equity, and Delivery in National Education Initiatives

Ashley Akingbade

Session 2 - 3.30pm - 5pm

SciComm-edy: What Can Science Presenters Learn From Stand-up?

Gareth Campbell, Zain Iqbal, Willow Marler

Have you ever sat through a conference and thought "I can't take one more slide with data on it"? Well, this could be just the lubrication that prevents your talks from being drier than solid CO2.

In this gig-style workshop you will learn about the transferrable skills that 3 chancers who do stand-up as a hobby have utilised in their jobs as science communicators.

Designing STEM That Teens Actually Return To: In-Person & Online Strategies

Gemma Longhurt, Georgina Green

Teenagers’ social, educational, and digital worlds differ significantly from those of many audiences, which can make engagement challenging but rewarding. Drawing on over 12 years’ experience designing STEM enrichment activities for 11–16 year olds, this session shares practical insights into what supports sustained participation — and what doesn’t!

We will explore how identity, psychological safety, structure, and pacing influence teenage engagement, using examples from both in-person and online programmes.  And we'd love to hear from you and your experiences to help improve our programmes too.

Nothing about us without us: Getting started with Patient and Public Involvement

Faye Watson, James Piercy, Helen Featherstone

Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) is no longer a “nice to have” in research - it’s an essential part of doing work that is meaningful, relevant and ethical. But for many researchers and science communicators, knowing where to begin can feel daunting. This session offers a practical introduction to PPI, led by three people who are supporting and undertaking PPI from different lenses within and outwith Universities. By delving into some case studies and applying participants own knowledge to these scenarios, attendees will learn what PPI is, how it differs from sci comm and public engagement, how their existing skills translate naturally into involvement work, and how to navigate common challenges.

One strategy to engage them all?

Chris Hamlett, Alice Fraser

How do we design public engagement strategies that work for researchers, partners, and the public? In this interactive session, we bring together experiences from developing public engagement strategies within a research institute and across a multi‑university partnership.

Through group discussion and collaborative mapping, we will explore what different audiences want from public engagement and where these motivations may overlap or diverge. We will link these insights to our own case studies from citizen science initiatives and the Discover Materials group demonstrating how we have balanced organisational goals with what different audiences value.

Thursday 16th July

Session 1 - 9.30am - 10.30am

Designing Practical STEM Activities that Bring Careers Learning Alive

Helen Liddle, Joanne Mitchell

This practical, interactive session takes a closer look at what effective STEM and careers engagement looks like in practice. Drawing on STEM Learning’s evidence informed approach, participants will explore a small number of core principles behind high impact activity design, with a clear focus on how practical STEM experiences can meaningfully support the Gatsby Careers Benchmarks and the development of essential skills. Through a hands on example, participants will see how STEM challenge, careers insight and reflection can be brought together in a simple, transferable way. Attendees will leave with clear, adaptable ideas they can take away to strengthen their own programmes and increase impact for young people.

Freedom, constraints and creativity – finding the right balance

Kathryn Boast, Jen DeWitt, Lorraine Coghill, Jeremy Thomas

Enabling young people to unleash their creativity in STEM engagement projects can support agency and encourage ownership of their creation itself and their learning. Such experiences can nurture a feeling that STEM could be ‘for me’.

But starting with a completely blank page can be a barrier as well as an opportunity. How do we provide sufficient scaffolding to foster progress, without quashing creativity and agency? And how do we evaluate such activity? In this session we will discuss and debate the advantages and pitfalls of freedom, creativity and constraints, and try to identify how to strike a balance.

Can I Play? (Open to co-presenters)

Megan Sanders

This session celebrates the power of play in preschool and early years science. We were all children once absorbed, endlessly curious, driven by excitement. Yet somewhere along the way that instinct to explore can fade. What if we could unearth it again? Play is ageless.

Through a hands-on challenge using reclaimed everyday objects, we’ll build, experiment, and create together while exchanging observations and practical facilitation techniques. Explore how small shifts in our approach, following children’s lead rather than directing it, can unlock deeper curiosity and learning through playful science. Because time spent playing is never wasted.

Session 2 - 12pm - 1pm

Honest Conversations About Money

Dr Katherine Holmes, Heidi Green

We love science, it’s why we involve ourselves in science communication, but if we want to make a career in science, we’re going to need to tackle that pesky thing called money. Whether you work for an organisation or are full time freelance, you will likely run into a situation where you need to manage money. But how do you value your work in a negotiation? Is that value a variable or a constant? How do you respond when asked for a day-rate? How much money do you need to survive? How much are others charging for the same work? Deposits? Pensions? Expenses? Tax? How do I balance all of this without underselling myself and undercutting others, but also managing the worry that high-fee requests will scare off clients?

In this discussion session, my co-hosts and I will pose some of these questions, share our perspectives and facilitate conversations within roundtable groups. After every talking point, attendees are be encouraged to share, in whatever capacity they feel comfortable with, key takeaways from their roundtable discussion.

Creative Science & Scientific Art

Amelia Doran, Debbie Syrop, Nic Harman

While some see science and the arts as two sides of a coin, this session aims to demonstrate that the two can not just co-exist, but inform and shape the other. With perspectives from science museums, engagement projects, festivals and artists themselves, in this session we will give you some examples of how art and science can be brought together in funding bids and projects. We’ll also explore what makes for a harmonious relationship between science and the arts, and where clashes could take place – and encourage you to think about how all of that could feed into your next activity, funding bid or project, while helping us create an art/science zine for BIG members. So grab some magazines, get collaging and chatting; and get some creative ideas flowing!

Learning without schools: Working with home educators

Sophia Collins, Helen Talbot, Tally Winter

The number of children home educating in England has tripled in the last ten years. Home ed groups present unique challenges but also benefits as audiences and partners for science centres and museums. This session explores how centres can build meaningful partnerships with home-educating families, offering insights from four unique perspectives: staff from two different educational visitor attractions with active home ed programmes, a home-educating parent, and a home-educated young person. Together, they’ll share practical learning, lived experience, and lessons in co-creation. Whether you're starting out or developing your offer, this presentation provides valuable guidance for professionals aiming to better support and engage home-educating communities.

Tides of Knowledge: Community and Place in Orkney

Howie Firth

The Orkney International Science Festival offers a unique model of STEM engagement rooted in community, culture, and a strong sense of place. Rather than positioning science as something delivered to an audience, the festival is shaped with its audience and draws on local arts, heritage, landscape, and lived experience to make science meaningful and relevant.

This discussion and workshop session will explore how a community-focused science festival can engage people who might not otherwise see themselves as “science audiences,” by embedding science within local culture and creative practice.

Session 3 - 2.30pm - 4pm

Community engagement and co-creation - lessons learnt

Sam Weston, Fiona Travers, Lewis Hou

Meaningful and equitable community engagement is often difficult, and finding a starting point can be overwhelming. 

The first part of this session will focus on sharing stories from different perspectives (university, freelance ,social enterprise and research council) to help us open up conversation as a group. This will include case studies and practical tool kits ready to use right away.  

The second part of the workshop will involve using a simple partner mapping tool to do some big picture thinking and highlight future opportunities for your community engagement work. 

We hope you will leave buzzing with ideas, confidence and inspiration! 

You Don’t Need to Become an Influencer to Be Visible, Trusted, and Booked

Emma Harper

Join this interactive session to explore visibility strategies beyond social media. Together, we’ll look at practical ways science communicators can build trust, recognition and opportunities without feeling pressure to “do it all” online. Delegates will reflect on where they are already visible, explore a range of realistic visibility options, and leave with reassurance, clarity, and one manageable action they can take immediately.

A Short History of Nearly Everything...You Need for a Grant Application

Geri Kitley

Have you ever been told ‘you should apply for funding for that’, or spotted a grant call in your inbox but weren’t sure where to start?

This session shares practical tips from funders, what to include in a strong grant application with plenty of space for your questions. It's designed so you'll get something out of it whether you're considering your first application or have held grants before and maybe even have your own tips to share.

Playing towards a better future: hope-punk game design

Khalil Thirlaway

The year is 2026. Intersecting crises of environmental collapse, economic decay and resurgent fascism combine to make hope a rare and precious commodity. The knowledge provided by science seems to mostly tell us we’re doomed, or is that our fear and cognitive bias coming into play? Science is an integral part of our way out of these crises, but we can’t create a better future without first envisioning it. We have to believe it’s possible to make it possible.

Games are a powerful tool to help audiences let go of their preconceptions and engage deeply with new concepts. In this workshop participants will collaborate to design games that incorporate both science and hope, to help audiences see the light in the darkness and be part of collective action towards a better future.

Friday 17th July 

Session 1 - 9.30am - 10.30am

Making friends and influencing people – a leadership skill

Helen Featherstone, David Owen

Are you still making the case for outreach and public engagement in your university? In this workshop we’ll explore how to build allies from across the university by considering the different university policy agendas that shape universities. We’ll identify our spheres of influence: where we have control, where we can support, and where we can influence. Understanding how to reframe OPE across different university priorities by using our sphere of influence is a key leadership skill.

This session is relevant for people who work in universities. Freelancers who work with universities will also find this useful when pitching and delivering work.

Learning with the Outdoors

Naomi Foster, Sotiria Boutsi, Sarah Gambell

Taking activities outdoors can be powerful, inclusive and fun! Each of our panel of presenters will share an activity or method that they use to connect people with the outdoors, such as to teach a particular concept, get people enjoying the nature around them, or using nature to understand ourselves better. These will include using digital tools to connect with nature, working with a range of ages, communities and voices, and promoting wellbeing. Participants will have a chance to try out tools, methods and activities, hear how they've worked in the real world and have opportunities for discussing them in small groups. 

Storytelling in science communication: risks and opportunities
Hannah Little (Online Speaker)
Science communicators have long been trying to monopolise on this most human instinct to hear and pass on the information we hear in the form of stories. For science communication, stories enable us to foreground relevance, emotion and engagement, which can be used to persuade audiences or make information stick with people.

In this workshop, we will introduce research from cognitive science about storytelling tactics which make our storytelling more effective and memorable. For instance, we know stories are more memorable if they are social, counterintuitive or evoke negative emotion. We will explore how these tactics might be useful for science communication, but also areas where science communicators might want to be careful when using strategies which might not complement our objectives or other professional standards. While some storytelling tactics can be powerful tools for engagement, it is crucial to use them responsibly and ethically. 

Pop-Up Science

Sarah Cosgriff, Louise Halliday

Pop-up shops in public spaces are an effective way to engage communities with science, in particular underserved audiences. They create informal environments for scientists and the public to interact with each other, and lead to building lasting relationships with different audiences and the wider community. These spaces also provide opportunities to test new activities and formats, and provide valuable skills development for researchers.

In this session, we will be sharing case studies and practical insights from running pop-up shops in our local contexts, highlighting the benefits and offering insight for others interested in creating similar projects.

Session 2 - 12pm - 1pm

Making a pantomime of science!

Joel Webster (Jokey Joel)

Working with live audiences is fun. "Oh no it isn't!" Pantomime may seem a world way from STEM communication however there a LOT of transferrable skills. Everything from how to hold your body, use the diaphragm, use syllable emphasis to make a point, use silence to your advantage, read an audience, adapt to audience comments/heckles/questions. At Sublime Science we love talking about science but it can be challenging. Even if you've got your content and topics organised, where do you start in getting you audiences attention and setting a positive tone?

This is a super fun, interactive presentation with a Q&A afterwards. There's jokes, audience participation, even volunteers from the audience. All designed to emphasize how fun, positivity and little bit of performance technique can capture the imaginations of the young and old. It's fun and surprisingly informative "oh no it isn't!"

Podcast 101: A beginners guide to get you designing, recording and publishing podcasts. 

Martin Khechara, Khalil Thirlaway

Everyone seems to have a podcast these days! As a format it has democratised broadcast media and allowed everyone a go at hosting their own programme. That said, if you have never been a host and interviewed someone, don't know that much about sound recording or are overwhelmed by all the different types of kit, it can be a bit of a daunting prospect. From simple rules for good journalism to how to record, edit and publish your own amazing pod, this workshop will give you what you need to get your new podcast idea off the ground!

Deep Listening: How New Ways of Listening Can Enhance Your Practice

Eve Armstrong, Paula Nino Uribe

Join Eve and Paula from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh to explore why listening is the most important part of communication and what real listening means.

Through hands-on activities reflect on listening in your practice. Be inspired by examples of how listening deeply can enhance learning and connection between people, science and nature. We will highlight how we use listening when exploring the relationship between nature and biodiversity loss with schools and community groups. This includes collecting and sharing the stories of participants, listening to diverse sources, training communicators and listening to the natural world as inspiration for our sessions

Empowering Every Learner: Using Science Capital to Improve Inclusive Access to Science

Jo Montgomery

Join us to learn how we can empower every learner and promote access to science for all. This session explores how research, including the Primary Science Capital Teaching Approach and ASPIRES evidence on science identity, can be turned into practical action. We will share effective strategies and resources we have trialled, reflect on how practice can unintentionally signal that science is “not for everyone”, and show simple but powerful tweaks for teaching, outreach and curriculum design. Using real pupil and teacher voice, we will demonstrate why building science identity and science capital is essential for equity and social justice.

Session 3 - 2pm - 3.30pm

A Career in STEM Communication

Felicity Perry

Join us for a discussion about STEM communication careers. In this session a panel of experienced communications professionals will share insights into their career journey, with the aim of having an enlightening, open and honest conversation. We’ll discuss what they love about their roles and their careers, what could have been better and what they wish they'd known earlier. There will be ample time for questions, and we’ll aim to talk about skills, freelancing, management, and leadership – plus all the trials and tribulations that go along with a career in STEM communication.

Unlock Your Inner Visual Artist: Creative Visual Practices & Tools for Science Communication

Scarlett Li-Williams, Lizah van der Aart

Visual storytelling is an incredibly powerful tool. It can carry and convey information, it’s easy to understand, and it helps people connect to a story.

But where do you start?
How about with this workshop!

You don’t need to be a visual designer or illustrator, and you don’t need to master any speciality software or use generative AI. This session will guide participants through exercises to activate your creative brain, followed by creating your own bespoke science comic.

Scicomm (Self-)Care

Hannah Ford Tomlinson, Hana Ayoob, Matthew Tosh

What do disabled and neurodivergent people working in scicomm need to thrive? And what can we learn about taking care of ourselves and each other from our disabled & neurodivergent colleagues?

Science communication is a sector which can be appealing and exciting for disabled and neurodivergent people - especially those of us who love to connect with other people through STEM. But it’s not always easy to work in scicomm, and we don’t always have our needs understood or met by our employers, our colleagues, our freelance clients, or ourselves.

In this session, some people who spend a lot of time thinking about their own health and wellbeing will share what we’ve learnt about how to survive - and thrive - in scicomm.

Whether you’re someone who needs more support, or if you want to learn more about how to support others, this will be a place for open discussion and practical (self-) care tools.

Killer Collaborations

Adam Boal, Mike Odd, Sonal Katyal

Join this session to explore examples of collaborations from our speakers, what made them work (or didn’t!), and the skills involved. Then have a facilitated group discussion sharing what has worked for you, your top tips, and maybe even finding a new collaborator.

Collaboration comes in many forms in STEM engagement, whilst we all know what good collaboration looks like, we rarely discuss the skills involved. Our speakers will talk though some of their examples: working with artists and freelancers, working with researchers and subject specialists, and building connections with community groups and organisations. Discuss the skills needed to navigate working together, agreeing responsibilities, ensuring collaborations are as inclusive as possible, and building trust in each other’s expertise, knowledge and abilities.

Lunch Time and Breakout Activities

Crafty Networking - Wednesday 15th

Samantha Durbin

Try out or share a STEM-related craft while chatting with your fellow event attendees at this informal networking session. All welcome, regardless of crafting experience - you can bring something to work on, share, or simply have a go at some of our favourite STEM craft activities.

Make & Take Extravaganza - Thursday 16th

Magne Hognestad

Who doesn´t like freestuff? This will be a workshop with stations where people can build different science themed make-and-takes to bring home. If you have some interesting make & takes feel free to bring them along (so we also can bring some stuff back home). Usually when we do this at teacher workshops, the teachers refuse to take breaks, and keep building after the end of the workshop, so expect an enjoyable session.

Two-minute Public Speaking Clinic - Thursday 16th

Isabel Pazmino-Mayorga, Ilina Serafimova

Two-Minute Public Speaking Clinic is a hands-on, supportive workshop designed for scientists and science communicators who want to sharpen how they talk about their work. Through short, two-minute talks, participants will explore body language, vocal delivery, structure, and how small changes can make scientific messages clearer and more engaging. The session emphasises constructive peer feedback and self-reflection, giving participants practical tools they can immediately apply to talks, outreach activities, and public engagement settings.

Sneaking it in - Thursday 16th

Stephen Summers
Bring and share your best tricks for instantly engaging the attention of an inattentive public. What’s the worst town for Science Busking? What can we learn from creative practitioners and street performers? The thrills, spills and unexpected joys of bringing a love of science to people who may or may not be at all interested.

In this session we will learn from each other and practice some handy techniques borrowed from music and drama workshops, street performers and buskers. Non-verbal communication, the 1-second hook, how to grab attention in the age of digital distraction, how to spark curiosity from the darkest glares, how to encourage the hesitant and challenge the confident at the same time. Hardest of all; how to deal with annoying parents… we will devise strategies for the echoing mum and the whispering dad.

We will also get to play around with some of the props and kit used by Noisy Toys (as well as anything else that anyone brings). We might try some role-play and some silliness, but CLOWNING WILL NOT BE MANDATORY. You can always watch, but you will be missing out on the fun. Whether you are a seasoned performer who can share some experience, or a hesitant novice who prefers to watch in fascination whilst other people seem prepared to make idiots out of themselves in public, you are welcome!

Story Time - Friday 17th

James Piercy

We will hear stories, not direct or critique technique but learn power by listening and telling in this lunchtime activity with James Piercy and others.

Outdoor Bubble Mayhem - Friday 17th

Ian Russell (AKA 'Bigbubbleman')

This is a spectacular outdoor bubble performance, of the kind that attracts huge crowds and drives children into a total frenzy of excitement and joy. It is likely to have a similar effect on BIG Event delegates.