Science Bazaar

Curiosity

Saturday 3rd February 2024, 11:30am-4pm

Science Bazaar 2024


Saturday 3rd February 2024, 11:30am - 4pm

The Oxford Brookes Science Bazaar will be back on Saturday 3rd February 2024. Join us at our Headington Campus for mind-bogglingly spectacular science fun!

This event is open to all. Fun for all the family and most suitable for 5-16 years.

Visit us to meet our staff, students, and partner organisations, explore our interactive stands, listen to our talks, learn something new, and to get stuck into our many activities! 

We will be running a relaxed, autism-friendly, early-opening, 9:30am-11:30am (This session will have a limited number of visitors allowing for a quieter festival experience. When booking tickets please select the relaxed autism-friendly session.) for those who prefer a quieter festival experience. We will then be open to all from 11:30am-4pm.

Address: Science Bazaar, Oxford Brookes University, Headington Campus, Clerici Building Room 1.01, Headington, Oxford, OX3 0BP. 

Joining our mailing list ensures that you will receive the latest festival updates and opportunities to book onto popular events

This year we will be exploring the theme of ‘Curiosity’, encouraging you to be curious, ask questions, and investigate our wide range of topics, in our five exciting zones:

  1. Happy and Healthy - find out what it is like to be a paramedic, experiment with nutrition, meet our physiotherapy students, and try your hand at keyhole surgery!
  2. Life Factory - discover how vaccines are made, get curious about venomous mammals, find out where caterpillars go in the winter, and explore life up close with our microscopists
  3. Mind Your Brain - learn about languages, and discover more about what we think
  4. Tech Zone - get behind the wheel of our formula racing car, meet a robot dog, discover more about the power of the sun, become an astronaut
  5. Discovery Zone - get creative with Chinese calligraphy, test yourself on your recycling knowhow, relax with a wellbeing crochet workshop

Contact:

Sessions:


Caterpillar Comics

Clerici Ground floor 
CLC.G.08

  • Session 1: 10:30-11:30
  • Session 2: 12:00-13:00

Join this fun comic book workshop led by Dr Casper Breuker, evolutionary developmental scientist at Brookes and Neill Cameron, authour of MEGA ROBO BROS, to create your own story based on crazy facts about caterpillars!


Volunteering Comics

Clerici Ground floor 
CLC.G.08

  • Session 1: 13:30-14:30

Join this fun comic book workshop led by Dr Sarah-Louise Mitchell, senior lecturer in marketing, and Neill Cameron, author of MEGA ROBO BROS, to sketch your own comic about volunteering.



Nursing Comics

Clerici Ground floor
CLC.G.08

  • Session 1: 15:00-16:00

Join this fun comic book workshop led by Katie Mills, senior lecturer in nursing, and Neill Cameron, author of MEGA ROBO BROS, to create your own comic about having your say in your healthcare journey.


Energy Live!

John Henry Brookes Lecture Theatre
JHBB LT

  • Show 1: 12:00-12:45
  • Show 2: 14:00-14:45
  • Show 3: 15:45-15:30

Join the Royal Institution for an electrifying science show that is use to get you fired up to learn about science!


Wellbeing Crochet

Clerici Ground Floor CLC 

  • Session 1: 10:00-11:00
  • Session 2: 11:10-12:10
  • Session 3: 12:20-13:20
  • Session 4: 14:00-15:00 
  • Session 5: 15:00-16:00 (for 12yrs +)

Join us to create your very own Worry Worm. Super cute and super fast to make, this self soother is the perfect crochet pocket pal - tell them your worries and they will share the burden.


Our World from Space

John Henry Brookes Building Student Union Hall
JHBB Union Hall

  • Show 1: 11:30-12:00
  • Show 2: 13:00-13:30
  • Show 3: 14:00-14:30
  • Show 4: 15:00-15:30

Join Science Oxford in an immersive family show inside a planetarium, you'll see the planet in a way you've never seen it before!


Mammal Madness

Clerici Learning Studio
CLC LS

  • Time to be confirmed

Got 15 minutes? Want to learn about some of the best mammals out there? Want to wow your friends/family/strangers with venom facts? Then it's your lucky day, come join PhD student Leah Fitzpatrick


5 Animal Tai Chi

Clerici Ground Floor
CLC 

  • Session 1: 12:00-12:30
  • Session 2: 13:00-13:30

Come and stretch your body with this fun 5 animal Tai Chi workshop!


We have once again partnered up with:

  • The Brick People - get stuck in with our LEGO Cafe, learning by building with our researchers to discover about; colour blindness in sport; growing food in unusual places; and parasites!
  • Bright Sparks Science - experiment, get messy and learn something new with the Bright Sparks team
  • Neill Cameron - join author of MEGA ROBO BROS, and some of our researchers in one of our awesome comic book workshops to draw your own story
  • Beyond Blocks - use LEGO and coding to solve problems with robots!

We have also newly partnered with:

  • The Royal Institution - explore the different types of energy that exist around us in this spectacular science show. Two of these shows will have BSL interpretation.
  • Science Oxford - join us inside a planetarium, to discover how satellites have taught us some spectacular things about planet Earth and to understand how space science can actually be, very close to home!

New this year:

  • See if you have what it takes to be a researcher at Brookes! Can you solve the puzzles to complete our Bazaar Escape Rooms? Take on a range of fun challenges, learn something new, and win a prize!
  • Meet Brooky - our Science Bazaar mascot!

At the Science Bazaar there is sure to be something for everyone to get curious about!

We hope to see you there!

Brooky - our Science Bazaar mascot

Contact us to find out more about volunteering and sponsorship opportunities: sciencebazaar@brookes.ac.uk

About us

Launched in 2008, Oxford Brookes Science Bazaar has grown to be a flagship annual event for the local community and beyond. The Science Bazaar encourages exploration of ‘science’ in the widest possible terms, engaging, for free, with over 3,200 visitors, of all ages and backgrounds.

The principal aim of the Science Bazaar is to inform and inspire visitors by showcasing the excellent research of Brookes staff, students, and partners, across the disciplines of science, technology, engineering, art, maths, and social sciences. This is achieved by curating a range of innovative and exciting high-quality content, which sparks the imagination and fuels a thirst for learning.

Aims and objectives:

  • To inspire the next generation of researchers and encourage curiosity.
  • To celebrate Brookes excellent research across all faculties.
  • To demonstrate the importance and impact of research to wider society.
  • To act as an opportunity for researchers to engage with the public.
  • To support our staff and students in their skill development and confidence in communicating with a variety of publics.
  • To connect with local organisations to promote partnership and innovation. 

Our team

Science Bazaar Executive and Operational Team:

  • Prof Linda King, Pro Vice Chancellor for Research and Global Partnerships
  • Dr Ellie-May Beaman, Science Bazaar Festival Director, Public and Community Engagement Coordinator
  • Prof Anna Nekaris, Public Engagement Lead, Professor of Anthropology
  • Dr Ryan Pink, Health and Safety Manager, Senior Lecturer in Molecular Biology and Genomics, CEO of MetaGuideX Ltd
  • Beth Hill, Events Manager
  • Becci Cooper, Events Officer
  • Vijay Hare, Engagement Content Assistant
  • Delia Redding, Campus Services Contracts Manager

Science Bazaar Advisory Board

Would you like to use your knowledge, expertise, and experience to help shape the future of the Oxford Brookes Science Bazaar? Why not join our advisory board?

Community Representatives:

  • Rose Hill Junior Youth Club (RHJYC)
    Windmill Primary School
    Autism Oxford
    Headington Senior School

Oxford Brookes Representatives:

  • Dr Ellie Beaman, Public and Community Engagement Coordinator
  • Prof Anna Nekaris, Professor of Anthropology and Public Engagement Lead
  • Ashley Ritchie, Research and Innovation Networks and Knowledge Exchange Manager
  • Beth Hill, Head of Events
  • Michele Morely, Head of Environmental Sustainability
  • Andrea Siret, Head of Community Engagement and Social Responsibility
  • Dr Brianna Wyatt, Senior Lecturer of Dark Tourism, Tourism and Events Management
  • Oxford Brookes CYP Network representative