Science Oxford is the UK’s first indoor-outdoor primary science education centre with a hands-on Exploration Zone and 15 acres of woodland and ponds. This is STEM on another level and follows the ‘thinking, doing, talking science’ programme that offers a more practical, creative and challenging STEM environment.
Their hugely popular Family Days gets you 2 hours in the Exploration Zone then you are welcome to access the outside Water Lab and woodland for the remainder of the day. The Exploration Zone is incredibly engaging with stations of activities around a big room which appeal for a range of ages – my 4, 8 and 10 year old all love it and we’ve been going for a good few years. The activities are mind opening and different from what many children will have experienced: watching water freeze through a magnifying glass, balancing objects on a spinning disc, blasting things into the air on the air table, building circuits and more! The gang I took were excited, enthralled and buzzing about what they had experienced, achieved and discovered.
And it’s not just for kids, oh no, I think I learned more about STEM in those 2 hours in the Exploration Zone then I did in my whole secondary education (STEM subjects weren’t my strong subject). Any chance of a grown-up day Science Oxford?
A splash in the Water Lab (bring spare clothes as wet cuffs can bring on incomprehensible rage) then a stomp around the woods Lord of the Flies style is a beautiful ending to the day.
