First exhibitors announced for The Big Bang North West

A pneumatic chocolate factory, a global space experiment and discovering the strangest things to be flushed down a toilet, all this and more will be on offer at this year’s The Big Bang North West.

Thousands of North West schools are expected to flock to the STEM event when it returns to Liverpool Exhibition Centre on  5 July.

Sponsored by global pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, The Big Bang North West is a STEM celebration which enables young people to discover the exciting and rewarding science, technology, engineering and maths based careers available in the local area via fun ‘quick hitting’ hands-on action.

Organised by Educate Awards sponsor MerseySTEM, The Big Bang North West has released the first round of exhibitors ahead of the much anticipated event.

The Royal Society of Chemistry is bringing its global experiment – mission starlight –  to the event which will demonstrate the strong links between chemistry and space. With astronaut Tim Peake currently on his Principia mission, space is firmly in the spotlight and The Royal Society of Chemistry will highlight how chemistry has played an important role in UV protection for astronauts.

Visitors will also get the chance to make their own comet bath bombs which they can take away and explore in its interactive tent which will contain glow in the dark stars, glow sticks and LEDs.

Automation technology company Festo will also be exhibiting on the day and will ask visitors to channel their inner Willy Wonka for an intriguing look into a pneumatic circuit that sorts caramel from chocolate, just like a real chocolate factory.

The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) will be dazzling visitors with its lights alive stand which will feature its build your own LED torch activity, the light quiz, volt videos, experiments and careers advice.

Elsewhere, United Utilities will be running many activities throughout the day to bring to life the waste element of its business, ‘What not to flush!’ Its apprentices will also be on hand to introduce children to the three P’s and there will be a chance to put them under the spotlight with a STEM quiz.

Managing director of MerseySTEM, Michelle Dow, said: “This is going to be the biggest Big Bang North West ever! We have fire shows, dry ice, gadgets, robots, coding, forensics, animals, creatures, slime, medical magic and so much more…you can even race the fastest man on Earth!

“MerseySTEM’s reputation is based on delivering exciting, engaging and interactive events and our motto is to ‘make it happen!’. This year we’re doing just that with a brand new venue that can accommodate 6,000 children and an open invitation to all North West Schools, Key Stage 2 to Key Stage 4 and beyond. We’re overjoyed to have so many wonderful sponsors on board already and AstraZeneca returning as our headline sponsor! We can’t wait to inspire the next generation of STEM experts and show you how good 2016’s event is going to be!”

If you’re a North West school who would like to book your free place at The Big Bang North West, visit www.merseystem.co.uk.