The Southampton Science and Engineering Festival (SOTSEF) programme took place from 6-15 March, culminating in the ever-popular Science and Engineering Day on Saturday 14 March.
In the week leading up to the big day, the wider festival programme took centre stage at Avenue Campus, where colleagues delivered a fantastic programme ranging from a deep dive into the science behind Jurassic Park, to an evening of comedy-fuelled science, to thought-provoking talks on the language of digital forensics, and archaeology vs pseudoscience.
Science and Engineering Day was spread across two campuses, featuring 1,000 exhibitors and 148 activities. Nearly 5,000 visitors of all ages joined the event, including families travelling from across the south (and well beyond!) to explore Highfield and Boldrewood Innovation Campus, meet University students and researchers, and engage with hands-on science.
Visitors said…
“It was a lovely day altogether, and it was “This is a fantastic day and really a great way to inform and inspire.”
“We found the students “Southampton Science and Engineering Day totally exceed our expectations.”
“A very interesting event. Truly impressive to see so much science in so many different disciplines.”[
Some of the University’s most impressive facilities opened their doors for the day, giving the public rare behind-the-scenes access to the 138-metre towing tank, wind tunnel, anechoic chamber, chemical engineering labs, cleanrooms, and the μ-VIS X-Ray Imaging Centre. These tours are always considered a major highlight and a great way to showcase the world-class environments our staff and students work in every day.
Festival activities made for a vibrant, inspiring, and truly memorable festival experience, including a Future Scientists dress-up photo booth, a teddy bear hospital, creating Egyptian pottery, learning basic life support, making optical fibres, and a drone simulator flying experience. Across both campuses, labs, foyers and lecture theatres were alive with hands-on workshops, games and interactive science experiences. The excitement continued with live science shows featuring lasers, gases and experiments, plus science stand-up comedy and talks.
Visitors said…
“Excellent range of engaging presentations and workshops! All staff were friendly and helpful, it was clear that they wanted to be there, as opposed to ‘had to be’.”
“It was all great. Great that the sun shone throughout. Great fun.”
“Really friendly greeting and excellent displays and interactive exhibits.”
Ben Littlefield, Head of Public Engagement, said:
“The University has held this annual event for more than 20 years now, and every year it gets better. Science and Engineering Day is truly special: a moment where we come together to share and celebrate the stories, people and research across our institution; to connect with and inspire people from all walks of life, and share learning both with and from our visitors. We are hugely proud to welcome thousands of people onto our campuses to share some of the incredible work happening here and across the region.
“This year had an extra spark of excitement as we are building towards hosting the British Science Festival (BSF) in September, which will showcase not only our inspiring research stories and innovations but more from across the UK, celebrating the best of the country right here in Southampton. It was great to share a glimpse of what to expect in September!”
Visitors said…
“It was a lovely day altogether, and it was amazing to share the enthusiasm of the academic staff and students who were presenting.”
“We found the students and staff to be friendly, helpful and super enthusiastic
“As a parent, I came away with a much stronger sense of the value of a university education and, importantly, how welcoming and accessible the environment felt. That shift in perception is incredibly powerful.”
Science and Engineering Day will be taking a break in 2027 and returning March 2028, due to the University hosting the BSF in the same academic year as Southampton Science and Engineering Festival 2027. The BSF will take place from 16 – 20 September 2026, and SOTSEF 2027 will take place during British Science Week as usual. Due to the festival flagship event not taking place, there will be the opportunity to explore new formats and ideas.
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