Widening Participation

We want everyone to be able to experience the wonder of physics. Whether it’s a tasty demo on the physics of ice cream, trying your hand at quantum computing or a trip to our annual Festival of Physics, our outreach programme has something for everyone.

We’re committed to supporting groups under-represented in higher education, encouraging them to consider university.

Future Brunels

We’re proud to be part of the SS Great Britain’s Future Brunels Programme to inspire young people in Bristol to study STEM subjects.

We love a good festival! When we’re not taking to the skies at Bristol International Balloon Fiesta recreating Victor Hess’ famous cosmic-ray discovering balloon flight, we can be found at Blue Dot Festival at Jodrell Bank Observatory introducing festival-goers to all things quantum or mesmerizing them with our polarised light experiments. Keep an eye out for us at upcoming festivals.

Outreach team

Schools programme

Designed to inspire the physicists of tomorrow, our schools programme aims to support primary and secondary teachers in the delivery of their curriculums and includes talks, workshops, build your own kits, placements and summer schools.

Talks and demos

We deliver talks and demos on everything from the physics of ice cream to studying physics at university.

Workshops at our labs

Our workshops are designed to help pupils to develop their practical skills and are held at our teaching labs.

Cosmic ray detector kits

With our free DIY kits pupils can build their own cosmic ray detector to install at their school.

Particle physics masterclass

Sixth form pupils spend the day with our researchers who work on CERN’s large hadron collider and analyse collider data.

Quantum summer school

At our free, week-long summer school pupils 16+ get to experience life at university and learn about quantum phenomena.

Festival of physics

Our free annual family festival ran in collaboration with the Institute of Physics celebrates all things physics. Held at our HH Wills Laboratory here in Bristol the day is packed with talks, fun experiments and much more.

Physics In A Box

To accompany our Physics in the Box primary resource, we have created a video to inspire students and take them on a journey from the micro to the macro, meeting Physicists at Bristol, finding out what they do and exploring the impact that Physics has on their everyday lives. It is a fantastic resource to share with students of any age. If you are interesting in being part of the scheme, please email science-outreach@bristol.ac.uk.