Explore the materials that are in your everyday life by taking part in our scavenger hunt, have a go at making biomaterials at home, finding out what we can learn by breaking materials and the importance of recycling materials.

We will be running sessions on four days during British Science Week to help you appreciate just how important Materials Science is in your everyday life and why we need to think about the entire lifecycle of materials for a sustainable future. We will be joined by a wonderful array of speakers who will discuss the materials needed to cross the English Channel, how to make biomaterials at home, how we test materials (including a LIVE session looking at materials in incredible detail under an electron microscope and a discussion about recycling of a range of different materials.

There will also be activities to try at home or in the classroom.

The provisional timetable is as follows:

Friday 5th March (Join from 1330) - Discovering Materials

Join us to appreciate the materials that are all around us by hearing the fascinating story of which materials were important to Anna Ploszajski when she swam the English Channel (there will be opportunity to ask Anna questions). We will also launch several scavenger hunts that will give you a chance to appreciate the materials around you.

Monday 8th (Join from 1330)- Making Materials and End of Life Use

Join us to learn what Materials Science and Engineering is and why the circular economy is so important in choosing and developing materials. We will also investigate biomaterials, learn about their lifecycle and even find out how to make some at home.

Thursday 11th March (Join from 1330)- Breaking and Testing Materials

Learn about why testing materials to their limits and choosing the correct test is so important. There will be a live session in which Mark Coleman (Swansea University) will use an electron microscope to see things that a normal light microscope cannot!

Friday 12th March (Join from 1300)- Recycling Materials

Learn about critical materials and why recycling of magnets and plastics are of such importance.