The Big Bang South West

Following the success of its first year, The Big Bang South West will once again be run in Devon on the 28th June 2012 at The University of Exeter.

REGISTRATION IS OPEN for 2012!!!!

The Big Bang South West made its way from Bath to the peninsula in 2011. It is now held at The University of Exeter and run by Devon Education Business Partnership.  The first year was a major success with over 45 regional and national organisations exhibiting, regional heats of prestigious competitions including the Young Engineer for Britain competition, 70 judges, 3 major science shows and 1500 students from across the whole of the South West.  The innovations, designs and concepts that some of the students came up with was truly fantastic, so much so that 9 students from our regional event put forward to compete nationally at the Big Bang Fair in Birmingham in March 2012.

If you would like to exhibit with an interactive stand, please fill in the Expression of Interest form and return to emma.walter@devonebp.org.uk

Inspiration for Students

To help with project ideas and to see what students have produced for competition at previous fairs, take a look at the case studies below.

Confirmed shows for 2012

Dr Hal’s Bigger Bang Show

Dr Hal will be demonstrating some spectacular science with items such as liquid oxygen, white phosphorus, the exploding dustbin, using carbon dioxide to cause a fire rather than put it out plus his very own exploding ostrich egg and hydrogen bazooka in his Bigger Bang Show.

Dissections Uncut

On Channel 4′s “Inside Nature’s Giants”, scientists went under the skin of some massive animals to figure out what made them tick.  Join presenter Simon Watt as he looks at some of the fascinating science that didn’t make the final cut.

Sounds of the Cosmos by Dr Lewis Dartnell

They say that in space no one can hear you scream, but if you took your space helmet off on Mars they could certainly hear you scream your lungs out, quite literally! Any planet or moon with an atmosphere can transmit sound, and the universe is abuzz with radio emissions which really come alive when played as audio. Hear the surface of the sun ringing like a bell, the eerie whistle from Jupiter's intense magnetic field, the pitter-patter of the rings of Saturn, and the rapid beat of pulsars. With plenty of astounding audio recordings, this talk will transport your ears to all corners of the universe and show you what space scientists can learn from the sounds of the cosmos

Interested in Judging at the Big Bang South West?

The Big Bang South West will be host to The National Science and Engineering Competition (NSEC) where hopefully, 10 of the brightest young sparks from the South West will be nominated to compete nationally at the Big Bang 2013.  We will also be hosting CREST Award prizes, STEM Communicator prizes and many more so need plenty of enthusiastic judges.

Judges will work in  pairs so you will never have to judge alone and you will be given guidance before the event as well as a briefing on the day.  Experience is not essential but enthusiasm and commitment are! We will provide refreshments to keep you going throughout the day as well as a networking lunch.

We really hope that with your help we can get a brilliant team of 100 judges with a vast array of experience, knowledge and expertise.

If you are interested, so that we can assess where your skills lie and are able to pair you with an appropriate judge please fill in the judging registration form. If you don’t have experience in all the categories it doesn’t matter, please just complete as much as you can.