STEM festival is back with a bang

The eighth annual Big Bang Fair South East will take place on 26 and 27 June. Organised by STEM Sussex, the STEM outreach department at the University of Brighton, over 13,000 young people and their teachers are expected to attend and take part in activities provided by more than 150 businesses, universities, professional bodies and other organisations.

First held in 2012, the Big Bang Fair South East aims to inspire students to study STEM subjects and embark on careers in STEM disciplines. Free to all young people between the ages of nine and 19, it is the final event of the annual Crawley STEMfest.

Among the exciting range of activities will be STEM-themed shows, interactive exhibitions and hands-on workshops, as well as the South East finals of the Big Bang UK Scientist and Engineering Competition, the winners of which will represent the region in next year’s national competition.

Estelle Whewell, STEM Sussex Project Manager, said: “We have a range of brilliant activities that is better than ever before, including everything from flight simulators, Lego robots and 3D pens to birds of prey, McLaren cars and VR equipment that shows how bees see.

“We honestly believe that young people can’t fail to be inspired and to consider STEM careers as a result of visiting the fair.”

Headline sponsor for the Big Bang South East is Gatwick Airport which will have its own zone covering 22 different areas of work at the airport. It is the most wide-ranging and comprehensive sponsorship that Gatwick has so far provided for the fair and includes a runway light-changing game, a flight simulator and a mock crime scene.

Around 150 volunteers from Gatwick will be at the fair to talk to students about their work, including Tony Yates, Head of Engineering, who said: “STEM subjects are critical to our business and we want to inspire young people to start their careers at the airport and be part of our continuing growth and success.

“The Big Bang is a fantastic way for us to connect with thousands of students, and we’re all very much looking forward to encouraging as many young people as possible to consider a career that involves STEM subjects.”

Natalie Goodchild, STEM Ambassador at Crawley-based CGG, added: “It has been a pleasure for CGG to have been involved with this important event since it started in 2012. This year our activity zone has even more hands-on activities for students to explore.

“These include VR headsets to discover our incredible satellite images of the world, microscopes to investigate rocks and fossils, our Lego Seismometer and Ocean Bottom Node (OBN) vibration detector.

“Our large team of geoscientists love volunteering at the Big Bang where they help guide students through the activities, sharing, informing and inspiring them to become the next generation of STEM professionals.”