On Monday 13th June 2022, Benjamin Franklin House joined forces with the Royal Institute of Great Britain (Ri) and National Physical Laboratory (NPL) to deliver one of the most exciting editions of Science on Stage to date!

Science on Stage, held in partnership with The Royal Institution, illuminates the National Curriculum through a variety of activities which demonstrate how the work of Franklin and scientists at the Ri arose from a spirit of awe and curiosity about the world in which they lived. The content is appropriate for upper Key Stage 2 children with the focus on a range of learning styles to enable all children to benefit from the experience.

This year we welcome almost 400 school children and staff from schools across London into the Faraday Theatre at the Ri for an exciting day of demonstrations. The show kicked off with our very own Education Manager, Henry, whose presentation on the true nature of lightning electrified the audience from start to finish. There was a thunderous applause as he lit up the room with our Tesla Coil to give a miniature Ben Franklin a loud zap of lightning!

Our presentation was then followed by two of the Ri’s very own presenters who demonstrated some exhilarating experiments with fire. They created explosions left right and centre as well as a spectrum of brightly coloured flames. Perhaps one of the most memorable moments of the day came when they burned a few too many onion rings in one experiment, which resulted in a bonfire-sized flame erupting toward the ceiling and shattering the glass bowl beneath it!

Following a short break the show was then rounded off with a fantastic demonstration from Andrew Hanson from the NPL who explored all of the fun that can be had with liquid nitrogen. Him and his team shattered flowers, created a bubbling mass of smoke, and revealed some of the most interesting facts about temperatures found across the planet and galaxy.

This is an annual event and following the overwhelming success of the 2022 show, we are already looking forward to 2023. Science on Stage is completely free of charge for all visiting schools, however tickets are limited and given on a first come first serve basis. If you are interested in bringing your pupils to Science on Stage 2023 please contact our Education Manager (education@benjaminfranklinhouse.org) who will be able to add you to our events mailing list so that you don’t miss out on future ticket releases!