Welcome to TechFest's Schools Science Festival 2025
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Festival dates:
Schools Week - Monday 26 May – Friday 30 May
Activity Weekend - Saturday 31 May and Sunday 1 June
TechFest is delighted to present its Schools Science Festival workshops for 2025 - an exciting line-up of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), all chosen with the capacities, principles, experiences and outcomes of Curriculum for Excellence in mind. View available workshops and activities and book your space today!
AVAILABLE WORKSHOPS
EY, P1 - P3
K’NEX Under the Sea with Subsea 7
Discover the unique challenges of exploring under the sea, find out how we breathe, what we wear to keep warm and how to move around in the subsea world. What will you discover beneath the waves?
Running time: 45mins
Age Range: EY, P1– P3
CFE links: Science, Technology, Engineering
The TechFest Dome – Day and Night
What makes day and night? Where does the Sun go at night? This show demonstrates how the Sun moves across the sky during the day in both summer and winter. Find the North Star, the Plough, Orion, Betelgeuse, and Sirius in the night sky and relate them to the Greek constellations.
Running time: 45mins
Age Range: EY, P1– P3
CFE links: Science, Maths
Ponds and People
Your pupils will take on the part of pond creatures, trying to survive pollution that might cause problems! However, if things go badly for their pond, it will be up to your pupils to decide how to heal the pond so that all the animals can return.
Running time: 45mins
Age Range: EY, P1– P3
CFE links: Science
K'Nex Under the Sea
Discover the unique challenges of exploring under the sea, find out how we breathe, what we wear to keep warm and how to move around in the subsea world. What will you discover beneath the waves?
Running time: 45mins
Age Range: EY, P1– P3
CFE links: Science, Technology, Engineering
P1 - P3
Wild About Maths
Take a walk on the wild side with TechFest as pupils undertake puzzles, challenges and problem-solving activities inspired by the natural world. In this hands-on maths workshop small teams of pupils work through a series of tasks designed to challenge and build confidence.
Running time: 45mins
Age Range: P1– P3
CFE links: Science, Maths
Isaac’s Big Idea
Pupils will hear the story of Isaac Newton and learn how forces interact with objects. Through storytelling and a range of fun activities students will learn about different forces, and the role the play in everyday life.
Running time: 45mins
Age Range: P1 – P3
CFE links: Science
Energising the Transition: Energy Explorers
Welcome Energy Explorers! In this fun and interactive workshop learn about different types of energy and the renewable energy sources helping to power our world!
In this energy inspired workshop, pupils get the opportunity to explore the science behind renewable energy and take part in hands-on activities. Join us on this exciting renewable energy journey and discover more about the world around you!
Running time: 45mins
Age Range: P1 – P3
CFE links: Science, Engineering, Renewable Energy
Wonderful Wind
This workshop introduces the basic concept of using wind to generate electricity, using poetry to set the context. Who Has Seen the Wind? By Christina Rossetti Who has seen the wind? Neither I nor you: But when the leaves hang trembling, The wind is passing through. Who has seen the wind? Neither you nor I: But when the trees bow down their heads, The wind is passing by.
Running time: 45mins
Age Range: P1 – P3
CFE links: Science, Literacy
P1 - P7
The Wonderful Rainforest
Rainforests only cover 2 percent of our earth’s surface, yet house over 50 percent of all living creatures and plant life on our planet. Using real life animal demonstrations, we will travel to different countries meeting some amazing animals that live in rainforests around the world. Get up close to real rainforest animals in this workshop. You'll learn what makes our rainforests so important to not only our planet, but to the animals who call the rainforest home.
Running time: 45mins
Age Range: P1 – P7
CFE links: Science
FitLab Exhibit Workshop
Your pupils can explore their endurance, power, agility, speed and coordination through a range of zoned exhibits. Participants can compete head-to-head in a brainwave battle, listen to their own heart on our heartbeat drum and test their skills on the balance board during this hands-on, interactive experience.
Running time: 45mins
Age Range: P1 – P7
CFE links: Biological Systems
Active Earth (Tue & Thur only)
Take a journey through our active earth exploring tectonics, earthquakes and volcanoes with multiple hands-on activities.
Running time: 45mins
Age Range: P1 – P7
CFE links: Geography, Social Studies
P2 - P7
There’s plastic in my sea! (Mon to Wed only)
Plastic is everywhere and plays an integral part in our daily lives. This programme explores how much we rely on plastics, its impact to the marine environment and the importance of refusing, reducing, reusing and recycling plastics. Through interactive demos, games and storytelling pupils will explore the impacts of plastic on marine life and what we can all do to help stop single use plastics.
Running time: 45mins
Age Range: P2 – P4
CFE links: Science
P2 - P4
Scottish roots
Join the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh as we take a journey into a world of plants, myths and legends. Listen to stories to learn about some of our amazing and unique Scottish plants, their traditional uses and the different names they have around our country. Get hands on with activities which get scientific cogs turning and creative ideas flowing and contribute to our collaborative art project with pupils from around Scotland.
Running time: 45mins
Age Range: P2 – P4
CFE links: Science, Maths, Literacy, Social Studies
Forces of Nature: Energy and the Environment
Join us to look at different types of weather and how they are associated with the Earth’s climate zones. Find out about Greenhouse Gases and the effect they have on our climate.
Running time: 45mins
Age Range: P2 – P4
CFE links: Science
P3- P5
Energising the Transition: Electromagnetism!
Understanding the properties of magnets is central to the energy industry and to many aspects of our daily lives. In this hands-on investigative workshop, working in small teams, pupils discover the properties and uses of magnets and magnetism and are introduced to the amazing phenomenon of electromagnetism.
Running time: 60mins
Age Range: P3 – P7
CFE links: Science
Maths Around the World
A fun, hands-on maths workshop designed to challenge and build confidence. A variety of puzzles, representing different countries, are set out around the room. In small teams, pupils travel around each puzzle with a customised passport logging the countries they have visited. Help and encouragement is at hand and solutions checked.
Running time: 45mins
Age Range: P3 – P5
CFE links: Science
P4- P7
The TechFest Dome – Night Sky
A tour of the night sky includes the North Star, the Plough and Orion. Watch how the stars move at night and discover how we get different constellations with the changing seasons. Listen to the amazing story of Perseus and Andromeda and find out which planets you can see in the sky tonight.
Running time: 45mins
CFE links: Science, Space
Circuits & Electronics (Thur – Fri only, Wednesday - TBC)
Spark your curiosity and discover how electricity works and how to stay safe in this workshop where pupils will create simple circuits and learn about the uses of different components.
Running time: 60mins
Age Range: P4 – P7
CFE links: Science
Commotion in the Ocean (Tue, Wed, Thur only)
Deep beneath the waves, the sea is a surprisingly noisy place. In the dark, murky depths many animals rely on sound rather than vision to explore their watery world. This interactive show blends biology with physics as we explore how sounds travels through the ocean, which marine animals have become acoustic specialists, and the impacts human activities may be having on the ocean soundscape.
Running time: 45mins
Age Range: P4 – P7
CFE links: Science, Environmental
Exploring Conservation With RZSS (Mon – Wed only)
Join an expert from the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland as we share stories of local and global conservation; learning about our amazing animals, the issues they face and the actions we can take as organisations and individuals to help them. This interdisciplinary session involves a series of fun games, activities including exploring artefacts.
Running time: 60mins
Age Range: P4 – P7
CFE links: Science, Social Studies, HWB, Literacy, Maths
K’Nex Lighthouses
Shine a light of creativity to tackle a historic engineering challenge. Investigate problems associated with the construction of lighthouses. Work in teams and use your engineering skills to develop a lighthouse prototype
Running time: 60mins
Age Range: P4 – P7
CFE links: Engineering, other - history
Discovering the Coast
A look at the East Grampian Coast, its wildlife and the threats that they are facing including marine litter and plastics.
Running time: 60mins
Age Range: P4 – P7
CFE links: Science, Environmental
Wonderful Wind
The workshop explains the fundamentals of wind energy, using high quality equipment and ‘playlets’ to enhance learning. Introducing concept that energy cannot be created or destroyed, only changed from one form to another.
Running time: 45mins
Age Range: P4 – P7
CFE links: Science
Land and Water Augmented Reality Sandbox (sARndbox)
A hands-on exhibit combining a real sandbox, and virtual topography and water created using a closed loop of a Microsoft Kinect 3D camera, powerful simulation and visualization software, and a data projector. The system teaches geographic, geologic, and hydrologic concepts such as how to read a topography map, the meaning of contour lines, watersheds, catchment areas, levees, etc.
Running time: 45mins
Age Range: P4 – P7
CFE links: Geography, Social Studies
Happy Hydrogen
Join us in this interactive workshop looking at the properties of gases and applications of electricity introducing pupils to some of the language and concepts involved in the utilisation of hydrogen as part of the energy mix.
Running time: 60mins
Age Range: P4 – P7
CFE links: Science
Flash, Bang, Kapow! (Thur & Fri only)
Are you the next generation of scientists? Come along and have fun with us in a workshop that captures the chemistry behind fireworks, learn how to make a bang in the kitchen and try our signature blend of ice cream.
Running time: 45mins
Age Range: P4 – P7
CFE links: Science
Countrysyde Classroom on Wheels
Join us in our Countryside Classroom on Wheels (CCOW) where we give an overview of Scottish Agriculture and look at our livestock.
We will also be looking at Super Cereal Crops and the STEM behind our food. Looking at everything from growing, caring for, harvesting and then the uses of the crops and why we grow certain crops in Scotland.
Running time: 60mins
Age Range: P4 – P7
CFE links: Science , Environmental, Agriculture
P5 - P7
Climate Change and Our Oceans
Climate change is affecting our planet in many ways and, as it is a blue planet, the ocean is being impacted on a massive scale. Climate change affects the ocean in three ways, through increased temperature, decreased oxygen levels and increased acidity. These themes will be explored with your class though interactive demos, activities and role play.
Running time: 60mins
Age Range: P5 – P7
CFE links: Science
Plant Protectors
Uncover the surprising link between cutting your grass and bird nests, explore how a career in rocket science can benefits plants and discover how storytelling can help plants. Join us for an interactive workshop to learn all this through creativity, investigation and VR exploration. Discover the different skills and technologies that scientists, horticulturists, artists, and others are using to work together to protect nature and meet some of the amazing people with interesting careers!
Running time: 60mins
Age Range: P5 – P7
CFE links: Science, Soc., Lit., Eng., HWB
Moonshot Challenge
NASA’s exploration of space has entered an exciting new phase with the designing and building of the Artemis rocket which will take people to the Moon. Scotland’s space administration has been asked to design accommodation facilities that can be used on the Moon. Local school pupils are being recruited to help design and make the shelters for astronauts and scientists.
Running time: 60mins
Age Range: P5- P7
CFE links: Science
Eureka Moment!
Pupils will learn about the Archimedes Principle, and then apply their knowledge to designing a boat and testing how many marbles it can hold. This workshop contains lots of experimenting with different materials and an introduction to concepts such as Archimedes Principle and density.
Running time: 60mins
Age Range: P5 – P7
CFE links: Science
Nature Detectives
Meet the Duthie Park Rangers and become nature detectives! Can you identify the trees in your local park? Do you know which animals walk on their nails? Come and have a look at some animal sings, test your tree ID skills, and learn why tracking is important!
Running time: 60mins
Age Range: P5 – P7
CFE links: Science, Environment
Lego Revewables
LEGO © Renewables will give your pupils a taste of what it’s like to work as an engineer in the renewables industry.
Build a wind turbine to get your pupils cogs turning. During the activity, young people will act as engineers and learn about renewable energy. Then, with help, the class will design and build a functional LEGO © wind turbine.
Once everyone’s happy with their turbine, we’ll test them to see how much energy they produce.
Running time: 45 mins
Age Range: P5 – P7
CFE links: Science, Technology
P6
Energising the Transition: Bright Ideas
Look around you. Are the lights on? Is your computer running? Or the TV playing? All of these things require energy! We use energy every day to power our world.
In this workshop, delve into the exciting future of energy and take part in hands-on, interactive experiments to learn about different energy sources, and the trade-offs associated with each. Which energy source will you choose to power your future?
Running time: 45mins
Age Range: P6
CFE links: Science, Technology
P6 - P7
Play the Body Game
The Body Game aims to demystify and provide clarity on how biochemical processes occur in the body. The game tasks players working in small groups to explore the human body through missions and challenges linked to key biochemical processes. At the same time, players must deal with external factors based on real-life medical scenarios such as disease and other human biochemistry and physiology modifiers. Therefore, they gain an understanding of the processes covered in the game, all of which link to human metabolism.
Running time: 60mins
Age Range: P6 – P7
CFE links: Science-Body Systems, Typical Science & Physical Wellbeing
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