About

• About the Exhibition
• Exhibition dates
• List of exhibits
• Evaluation of the Exhibition
• Audiences
• What else is going on at the exhibition?

About the Exhibition

The Summer Science Exhibition is a free festival showcasing the science shaping our future. It is a celebration of the cutting edge research being done right now across the UK and the researchers making that happen. Each year 22 exhibits are selected in a competitive process to exhibit their work during the exhibition in July.

The exhibition aims:

• For visitors to meet and question real researchers, engaging in a two way dialogue where both parties take something away
• For visitors to engage with the key messages of the exhibit in a hands on, interactive way
• To reach new audiences who may not be currently engaged with the science
• To allow researchers to showcase their research, gaining public engagement experience and the tools to reuse their exhibit
• To interest school and college students in science and STEM careers
• To share the exhibition with those unable to attend in person

View a 360 video from the 2018 exhibition

What is the dress code during the exhibition week?

Comfortable clothes. Most exhibit teams choose to wear matching T-shirts with trousers/skirts, and comfortable shoes, so that they are distinct from the general public and other exhibit groups. Please note, Royal Society exhibition team wear red t-shirts during the week and we would strongly advise your team wears a different colour to avoid any confusion with visitors.

Exhibition dates

SET UP

EXHIBITION

Please note that the timings listed below are the public opening hours for the exhibition. During the exhibition, exhibitors are allowed to be on site 1 hour before the exhibition opens and remain behind for no more than 30 minutes after the exhibition closes to the public. 

BREAK DOWN

Note: all exhibit materials and exhibitors must be off site by 12pm on Monday 8 July. We will be unable to store items in the building after this point.

List of exhibits

Evaluation of the Exhibition

The Royal Society evaluates the exhibition in two ways, from the perspective of the public and from the perspective of the researcher. 

All the lead exhibitors from the Summer Science Exhibition will be asked to fill in a survey covering the below areas, which help us understand motivations for being involved in the exhibition and how we can better support public engagement in institutions. 

• Career stage
• Public engagement experience
• Experience at the exhibition including impact

Public visitors are asked to complete a questionnaire on leaving the exhibition. An evaluation report, based on the findings of this survey is circulated to exhibitors in the months following the exhibition. The survey questions will cover the following areas. 

• Visitors' overall enjoyment of the Exhibition and whether they would recommend the exhibition to a friend or colleague. 
• Have visitors’ perspectives on science been changed? If so, how? 
• Demographic data 
• Diversity data

A separate survey is filled in by pre-registered school groups and covers questions linked to science as a career and perception of scientists.

Audiences

Visitor statistics (%) are taken from completed visitor questionnaires from the 2018 exhibition. 

Pre-registered school students 

• 1,918 students visited with 193 teachers
• Of the schools that had registered to attend, 50% had not attended previously and 26% were independent schools
• 88% of students agreed that by attending the Summer Science Exhibition they had learnt new scientific knowledge
• 75% of teachers agreed that by attending the Summer Science Exhibition they had some ideas for new lesson content
• 80% agreed that their students had gained a greater understanding of the relevance of science to the world around them
• 91% of teachers felt their students gained a greater understanding of the importance of their studies 

Public visitors 

• 8,061 public visitors attended the exhibition
• The highest proportion of visitors were 13 - 25 years old, including school visitors, though there was a good spread across all age groups
• There was an even gender split among visitors
• 35.2% of visitors reported that they had visited before
• 97.1% rated the exhibition 'Excellent' or 'Good'
• When asked what they enjoyed most about the exhibition, the most popular responses were: ‘Visiting the various exhibits’ (74.9%), ‘Learning the latest about cutting edge research’ (50.1%) and ‘Meeting and interacting with scientists’ (48.6%)

Visitors also gave us some qualitative feedback:

“All the exhibits are selected across such an interesting range of subjects and the people on the stands are so enthusiastic and helpful. Always a great day – thank you.”

“Well organized. Interesting science. Nice people in the stands. Good Job!”

“Excellent experience as usual, have recommended on several occasions and will continue to come.”

“Always a high calibre of exhibition and knowledge on subjects presented; inspiring as well as informative.”