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British Science Week 2026 Curiosity: What’s Your Question?
“The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.” Albert Einstein
What is British Science Week?
Run by the British Science Association, British Science Week is an annual 10-day celebration of science, technology, engineering and maths – encouraging participation and engagement in these areas, with an overall goal of sparking enthusiasm for them.
When is British Science Week 2026?
British Science Week usually takes place in March. This year, it runs from 6th – 15th March 2026.
What is the 2026 theme?
There is a different theme every year – with last year’s being Change and Adapt. The theme for 2026 is Curiosity: What’s your Question? As most scientific research starts with a question, and is enquiry-led, this lends itself well to engagement with Science and STEM subjects in general.
Curiosity is one of the foundations of learning. It’s what makes us tick. It drives innovation. It enables adaptability. It boosts creativity. It enhances problem-solving. It drives success. It could also be said that curiosity is the bedrock of all empirical research. Fostering a life-long curiosity for learning is, therefore, vital in primary schools.
Science is the subject that can perhaps do this best.
How can we help you to deliver meaningful practical lessons – especially during British Science Week?
At EuHu/Findel, we have our very own whole school science scheme, pH Primary Science, which has practical science at the core of it. In fact, pH stands for practical, Hands-on!
The scheme covers all National Curriculum (NC) objectives for Science from Years 1 to 6 and uses resources that should mostly be available within school or around the home. Any additional resources that you may require can also be ordered with the click of a button from within the platform too!
How can I create lessons for British Science Week (BSW)?
The pH Primary Science scheme has 157+ lessons and covers all of the NC Science units. At least 50 of them are specifically enquiry-based and, therefore, directly applicable to this year’s theme of Curiosity: What’s your question?. The lessons are also editable so you can adapt them to meet the needs of your learners.
To help you further with BSW, we have given you shortened versions of some of our main activities below AND made the FULL lesson plans (including Starter, Plenary, Assessment Opportunities etc.) available for FREE throughout March and April.
KS1 Lesson: Investigating Materials Which is waterproof?
Learning Objective:
To explore questions about everyday materials
Working Scientifically:
To perform a simple test to explore a question. To gather and record data.
You will need: selection of materials (e.g. plastic such as cling film or a plastic bag, tin foil, kitchen roll, piece of paper, cotton wool etc.), water, trays, water sprayer/pipette/eye dropper, waterproof covering to protect the tables
1. Explain that Tim the Teddy needs a waterproof hat for his holiday and that the children will test different materials to find out which would be best.
2. Set up tables with waterproof coverings and give each group a tray, a range of materials, and a way to add small, consistent amounts of water (e.g. using a pipette/eye dropper, spray bottle). Talk briefly about keeping it a fair test.
3. The children will test each one by adding the same amount of water and observing what happens.
4. They could record their predictions and results in a simple table and discuss what they notice
5. Ask them to say which material they think is best and why.
For the FULL lesson plan, click here.
KS2 Lesson: Introducing Friction How does the surface area affect the movement of a toy car?
Learning Objective:
• To compare how things move on different surfaces.
• To notice that some forces need contact between 2 objects
Working Scientifically:
• To set up practical enquiries, comparative and fair tests
• To take accurate measurements using standard units
• To record findings
You will need: ramps (either purpose built like those available in the Resources section, or you could use a pile of books and planks of wood), cars, different surfaces to test on (e.g. carpet, wood, shiny plastic, rubber, sandpaper etc.), tape measure/ruler/metre sticks
1. Provide each group with a ramp (ready-made or constructed), a selection of different surfaces (e.g., carpet, wood, plastic, rubber, sandpaper), toy cars, and measuring tools.
2. Explain to the children that they will investigate how the car moves on each surface.
3. Ask the groups to plan how they will test the surfaces fairly, including how they will measure the distance travelled (e.g. using rulers, tape measures, cubes etc.).
4. The children will then place the car at the top of the ramp, release it, and measure how far it travels on each surface.
5. They should record their results in a simple table and compare how the different surfaces affect the car’s movement.
For the FULL lesson plan, click here.
KS2 Lesson: Forces How does a hockey puck move?
Learning Objective:
• To compare how things move on different surfaces
Working Scientifically:
• To make predictions
• To make systematic and careful observations and, where appropriate, take accurate measurements using standard units, using a range of equipment
You will need: milk bottle lids (plastic screw top), tape measure/metre ruler, items to act as a hockey stick (e.g. Knex), different surfaces to test (e.g. shiny floor, carpeted, table top, large piece of fabric, tray of ice etc.)
1. Ask the children to predict how a puck will move on different surfaces.
2. Test this by sliding a ‘puck’ (a milk bottle top) across different materials such as ice, tabletops, paper, card, carpet or other classroom surfaces.
3. Using a small stick (e.g. made from Knex), the children will need to apply the same force each time to the ‘puck’ and measure how far it travels on each surface.
4. They will then compare these results.
Ensure that they think about/discuss how to keep the test fair by keeping variables like force and puck size the same while only changing the surface.
The children could record their results in a simple format such as a table, on post‑it notes or whiteboards or take photos. They could then share what they noticed and explain their findings.
For the FULL lesson plan, click here.
If you would like a free 2 week trial of pH Primary Science please email educatorhub@findel.co.uk with your first and last name, name of school and your role.
About EuHu
EuHu is Findel’s digital learning platform designed to support teachers with high-quality resources, CPD, and curriculum content. Our mission is to make teaching easier by providing practical tools and ideas that reflect the realities of the classroom.
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