At the Summer Science Exhibition we welcome around 100 school and college groups from across the UK. Each school or college will have booked a session to visit the Exhibition and explore some of the latest and most innovative UK science we have on display.
The Lead teacher for each group will receive a joining instruction pack by mid June via post. The joining instructions will contain essential information and wristbands for your visit. It will refer to various additional documents that can be downloaded below.
It is essential that all Lead teachers read the joining instructions at least a week before attending the Exhibition.
If anything arises which may affect your visit, we will provide updates via our Twitter feed and we recommend you check this in advance of travelling.
Documents to download
Actions for lead teachers before you attend
Risk assessments
Photography and filming
Getting here and parking
Deposit return information
Facilities on site and nearby
Booking information for Schools talks
Contact us
Summer Science Exhibition Guide for teachers - curriculum links (PDF)
Summer Science Exhibition Guide for students - visit planner (PDF)
Checklist for visiting schools (PDF)
Photography consent form (PDF)
Registration list template (Word)
Key information for the My Future in Science days (Wed/Thurs) (PDF)
Key information for the Inspiring Science days (Mon/Tues/Fri) (PDF)
Health, safety and security information for schools and colleges (PDF)
General risk assessment for the Royal Society (PDF)
Risk assessment for exhibits (PDF)
All lead teachers should ensure they have undertaken the following at least a week before attending the Exhibition:
The Royal Society is committed to providing its visitors with a safe environment and an enjoyable visit. Please download and read through the up-to-date health and safety and risk assessment documents that will be available above from the start of June. You must ensure you have read through the documents above and communicated the key points to your group so they know what they should do in case of an emergency.
You are required to bring a copy of your group register, covering teachers and students, to be handed to us at registration when you arrive at the Exhibition. You should also have a second copy to have with you at the event in case of a fire or evacuation. A template will be provided above for ease.
Please encourage students to leave bags and coats at school or bring as small a bag as possible. The venue is a listed building, does not have air conditioning and some rooms can get quite busy. There will be limited, un-staffed space within the Schools hub for you to drop bags and coats, but please note these will be left at your own risk.
You are required to bring a completed photography consent form and hand this in to us at registration when you arrive at the Exhibition. At certain times during the Exhibition there will be official filming and photography taking place. If any of your students do not wish to be filmed or photographed as part of this, then please indicate this on the photography consent form by providing their names and the total number of students and staff who do not wish to be photographed. Please remember to check photo permissions specifically for any local authority care (LAC) students in your group.
At registration, the lead teacher will be given an orange ‘opt out’ sticker for each listed person, which must be worn in a clearly visible place – not concealed by hair, scarves, bags etc. If the official photographer cannot see the orange ‘opt-out’ sticker they cannot be held responsible for any photographs taken of that student/adult.
Please note: this is a public event and therefore members of the public attending may take their own photographs which we are unable to control.
The Exhibition is located at the Royal Society, 6-9 Carlton House Terrace, London and is within easy reach of public transport and accessible by road, with nearby parking. Please note: coaches can drop off outside Carlton House Terrace, but will not be able to park here, and will need to use a coach park elsewhere in London.
Any deposits to be repaid will be refunded to the card they were paid from. This will happen via Eventbrite within two weeks of the Summer Science Exhibition. Those schools or colleges who do not attend on the day, attend with less than 50% of their booked group, or cancel with less than a month to go will not have their deposits refunded.
To make the best use of your time at the Exhibition, we recommend that booked groups attending on Monday, Tuesday and Friday eat lunch before or after their visit. Students are not able to eat at the Exhibition and will not be allowed to access the café as per previous years. As the Royal Society is located opposite St James’s Park and near Trafalgar Square, there are many local cafés, sandwich shops and picnic places within a short walk. We therefore encourage you to bring packed lunches and find a suitable place for lunch in advance.
For those attending on the Wednesday or Thursday, as you will be attending the whole day you will be able to use the Schools hub to sit and have lunch. Please bring your own packed lunch and drinks to have on site.
The main toilets are in the basement. There are accessible toilets on the ground floor behind the reception area.
We encourage students not to bring coats and large bags with them. However, if needed, there will be limited, un-staffed space within the Schools hub for you to drop bags and coats.
There will be a multi-use room available for prayer, personal or reflective use. Please note that this room is available for all visitors to the Society and may not be available for your specific use at a given time. If you plan to use this room during your visit please let us know in advance.
During your time at the Exhibition there will be at least one Schools talk taking place. These talks are given by education outreach and public engagement professionals and cover a range of interesting topics linking to the curriculum.
Details of the talks will be available here from June and will also be sent via email to the lead contact with details of how to reserve places in advance. Spaces are limited in each talk, so if you wish to attend we recommend you reserve your places in advance if at all possible. Any spare tickets remaining will be available on the day from the Schools hub on a first come-first served basis.
If you have any queries regarding booked groups attending the Summer Science Exhibition, please contact education@royalsociety.org.