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Our Activities
Take a look at some of the great activities we have planned for Celebrate Science 2024.
Experiment!
With our Schools’ Science Ambassadors.
Come and meet these inspiring school students with an enthusiasm for science and a talent for getting people involved in experiments. They aim to amaze and engage with their hands-on activities including testing balloon rockets, building planets and investigating slimy stuff!
Planetarium
Durham University Physics
Explore the night sky in Durham University's planetarium. Join astronomers on a journey to outer space with stories about the constellations and fascinating facts about stars, planets and what you can see in the sky tonight. Shows last approximately 25 minutes and are suitable for anyone aged four and over.
Children should be accompanied by a responsible adult.
Science and the Senses
Durham University Psychology
A series of fun games for children designed to highlight how important our senses are, and how they work together to help us understand the world. Children of all ages can take part in a series of fun demonstrations involving reaction time tests, a speech warping machine, and the ‘rubber hand illusion’.
Nanobots!
Durham University Chemistry
Swing into high gear as you step onto the track in the battle against cancer. Take the wheel of a remote controlled forklift truck and go on a mission to eradicate the cancer cells around the track. Power your truck using a unique activation light and discover the incredible way nano-drills use light to target and safely eradicate cancerous cells in the body.
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Fabulous Fairgrounds
Beamish Museum
We’re looking for a new ride to fit into our Fabulous Fairground at the museum. Can you help? Design, build and test your moving fairground model using K’Nex and see where your imagination and engineering skills take you! Or take a look at our examples and figure out how they work.
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How Random is Random?
Durham University Mathematical Sciences
Can you predict the balls' paths through our mathematical pinball machine? Where will a roll of the dice bring you if you go out for a random walk? Discover the answers and more with our activities on the mathematics of random movement and famous number patterns.
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Celebrating the Sun
Durham University Mathematical Sciences
Why does the Sun shine? What is it made of? Discover the Sun's complexity, its intense magnetic field, and its atmospheric arches that sometimes erupt violently! Learn how these eruptions create the Aurora and help us create our own giant Aurora. We need your help!
Rocks, Bogs and Bugs of the North Pennines
North Pennines National Landscape team
The North Pennines is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and a UNESCO Global Geopark, within easy reach of Durham. Get hands-on and find out for yourself how this stunning local landscape is formed from magma to mining and from peat to people. These activities are supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Peak Exercise Performance
Durham University Sport and Exercise Sciences
What helps make athletes successful at events such as the Olympics and Commonwealth Games? Sport and Exercise Sciences use a variety of different tests to monitor the athlete's performance and make sure that coach and athlete have all the information required for success. Come along and see if you could be a future Olympian!
Science All Around You
Procter & Gamble
Join scientists from Proctor & Gamble to explore the amazing science behind some of the things that you use everyday. There's more than meets the eye to many of the items you find in your home.
Galaxy Makers
Durham University Institute for Computational Cosmology
Understanding how galaxies are made is one of astronomy’s greatest puzzles. Join us to find out how we use computer simulations to test how galactic ingredients and violent events combine to shape the life history of galaxies, and make your own galaxy in the computer.
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Harnessing Wind Power
Durham University Engineering
Discover the force of wind as a renewable energy source. Participate in our interactive wind turbine workshop: build your turbine, set it in a mini-wind tunnel, and test different configurations. Start with five blades, then adjust the count and pitch angle to optimize power output. Join us to experiment and learn how small changes can make a big difference in energy efficiency. Embrace the challenge and contribute to a sustainable future!
Exploring Earth Sciences
Durham University Earth Sciences
Earth Sciences helps us understand natural hazards like volcanoes, earthquakes, landslides and tsunamis. Earth Sciences also play an essential part in finding and developing new energy sources and resources. Join us to try some activities and discover what Earth Sciences is all about.
Beautiful Biosciences
Durham University Biosciences
Explore Biosciences from the microscopic to something as large as a Hippo. Can you identify an animal from the size and shape of its skull?! Augmented Reality T-shirts that help you to see inside your body and learn about your tissues and organs. Look at those tissues down the microscope and see how they all are made of tiny cells.
Our Energy Future
Durham University Durham Energy Institute
Poverty, Hunger, Disease, Water, Energy, Climate. These global challenges, and many more, need solutions to make the world a better place for everyone. Come and join us to explore effective solutions to some of these challenges. You too can be a problem solver and make a difference.
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Space Investigators
Newcastle University
Did you know some of the earliest ideas of galaxies came from a Durham astronomer? Or that the largest telescope in the world in the 1800s was in Gateshead? Come along to hear how the North East of England shaped astronomy with hands-on interactives.
The History of Medicine
Durham University Library and Collections Learning and Engagement Team
Feeling under the weather? Try the finest Tudor Treatments, Medieval Medicines or Roman Remedies two thousand years of history have to offer. Spin the wheel of diagnosis and receive a cure* from one of our historical doctors.**
*Not really a cure ** Not really doctors
Warning: cure may actually be worse than the disease
Light Entertainment
Durham University Physics
Light and atoms are all around us, but is there more to them than meets the eye? Discover the physics of 3D films, make your own colour-changing picture and learn how we can use light to identify different atoms.
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Spooky Science
Light Years, a Place Partnership project
Einstein famously called Quantum Entanglement theory "spooky action at a distance”. Join our fun, immersive installation and explore the mysterious and spooky things happening in the dark shadows of our universe.
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Mimi's Space Adventure
Durham Institute of Physics
Mimi is a curious girl with many questions about the universe. When her essay, "Everything I’ve Ever Wanted to Know About Space," wins her a trip to mission control, she is thrilled! Join this family adventure to discover what it takes to go to space.
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Bridge the Gap
Locomotion
Designed by renowned railway pioneer George Stephenson, Gaunless Bridge is the very first iron railway bridge to use an iron truss. The bridge spanned the River Gaunless in West Auckland, County Durham, on the Stockton & Darlington Railway, a location just a short distance from Shildon. Come along and meet the team from Locomotion and have a go at building a bridge.
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Seeing Into Space
Centre for Advanced Instrumentation, Durham University Physics
Can you fix a giant space telescope? Have you ever wondered why the stars twinkle, and why that matters when we talk to satellites in space? Join us to find out all about optics in space and on the ground.
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Sending Secret Messages
Durham University Computer Science
Have you ever wanted to send a secret to a friend without anyone else learning the message? People have been trying to do just that for over 3500 years! Join us to learn how to send and read secret messages using different methods from throughout history.
Bubbles!
Durham University Chemistry
Why does soap form bubbles? Why do they pop? Join us to investigate the science behind bubbles and put your bubble-blowing skills to the test. We will also learn how scientists use tiny bubbles to coat new medicines to make them safer. See if you can capture a rubber duck inside a bubble in the same way!
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Skeleton Science
Durham University Archaeology
Have you ever wondered how the human body works? Come and join us to inspect human bone casts to see what we can learn about past people, their health, lifestyle and diet. Examine your own teeth to see what you can learn about your own dental development and explore dental diseases to learn about the benefits of good dental hygiene! Use your skeleton knowledge to make your own moveable skeleton.
Glaciers
Durham University Geography
Have you ever wondered how our landscape was made? Come and join us to build your own glacier, which have been shaping the north of England for much of the past 2 million years!