Science with schools & public groups
At the Rosalind Franklin Institute we aim to engage with a variety of ages and backgrounds from schools to community groups to public events. Read more below about some of the Franklin’s outreach activities.
Schools
We work with our partners, Education Business Partnership, to deliver workshops in schools in our local area to inspire the next generation of scientists. We aim to show the range of roles that are available in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) careers.
During schools visits we discuss Rosalind Franklin’s work and the work at the Rosalind Franklin Institute as well as run some interactive activities with the students. These activities include learning about DNA and base pairing, making bracelets with upper primary school groups, we also run workshops with secondary school groups with activities on how to choose scientific projects as well as machine learning for AI.
Our AI researchers also take part in I’m A Scientist chats, where students are able to connect with scientists and get their science questions answered.
Virus Factory in Schools resources are available for schools to deliver three standalone workshops based around viruses and microbiology. These workshops use citizen science as a way to show pupils that they are capable of making meaningful contributions to real science research.
We offer work experience placements for students in secondary schools, sixth form and college, please see the full information here.
Community Groups
At the Franklin, we believe it is important to show the local community what amazing research is happening right on their doorstep. We have hosted a local U3A Science and Technology interest group at the Franklin who met with staff and students through tours and talks, to find out more about the work on campus, amongst the visitors were even former Harwell Campus employees.
“Please also convey my thanks to the staff there… they made the visit fascinating, with their summaries of their research work. The trip was a fabulous update to my now antique knowledge of any of these areas.” – Member of the Witney U3A Science and Technology Group.
Our researchers also give talks and take part in discussions outside of the Franklin. Michele Darrow and Michael Grange joined a panel discussion as part of the 2024 Festival of Tomorrow in Swindon alongside Dr Karen Davies from Diamond Light Source. The panel discussion “Big Health, Tiny Science” was hosted by science journalist Roland Pease and focused on atomic pathology and how we are using microscopy to understand human health and disease.
“When working in interdisciplinary science, communicating ideas is critical to make our projects work. The skills that we learn and use communicating our ideas and work with the public, are exactly the same as trying to describe our science to a different domain specialist.”
Public Events
In the Summer of 2024 Harwell Campus opened its doors for the first time in eight years. Over 10,000 visitors came to campus for Harwell Open Day 2024 to get a glimpse behind the science happening in Oxfordshire. Teams across the Franklin were excited take part and share their work to visitors, from structural neurobiology to mass spectrometry.
Not only do we attend events on Harwell Campus, we get involved with local and UK wide festivals and fairs, such as ATOM festival in Abingdon, Bluedot Festival and the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition. Keep a look out on our events page for information on upcoming events and festivals that we are involved in.
To request a visit to your school or group, or to discuss the possibility of a visit to our Institute contact our team: