Cambridge Science Centre – A Nomadic attraction that finally found a home

In this Skip the Queue podcast episode, Paul is joined by some of their team. Andrew Farrer, Head of Programmes and Delivery, Rebecca Porter, Head of Development, and Mandy Curtis, the Head of Exhibitions of Cambridge Science Centre.

“Our magic pixie dust, if you will, that brings everything to life, really are our team of science communicators.”

Rebecca Porter is a seasoned development and business strategist with over five years in the leadership team at Cambridge Science Centre (CSC). She has played a pivotal role in driving CSC’s strategic growth, securing transformative results, including a 50% increase in income and establishing key partnerships that help sustain CSC’s mission.

Her expertise in fundraising, stakeholder engagement, and business development has been integral to CSC’s evolution. Representing CSC at external events, Becca engages with stakeholders across academia, industry, and government, fostering impactful relationships that strengthen the organisation’s community presence and reach.

Before joining CSC, Becca held the position of Licensing Manager at the RSPB, where she led efforts to negotiate intellectual property rights for product-based partnerships. Her strategies resulted in an increase in profit, underscoring her strong commercial acumen and collaborative approach.

With a professional background enhanced by six years of international experience with Carnival Corporation in Miami, Florida, Becca brings a global perspective to her work. Her ability to connect and communicate across diverse sectors reflects her adaptability and understanding of complex business landscapes.

Becca’s approach is marked by her commitment to expanding CSC’s impact and access to science engagement, helping inspire the next generation of learners. Her ongoing efforts to cultivate partnerships and innovate within her field underscore her dedication to making science accessible and engaging for all.

“You leave my socks out of it.”

Andrew Farrer is the Head of Programmes and Delivery at Cambridge Science Centre. A biological anthropologist by background, he started at the Centre as a Science Communicator travelling around communities and schools on the Roadshow programme. In his current position, he makes sure the team has what they need to deliver the very best in science communication. His PhD used ancient DNA to understand how the human microbiota (the bacterial community living on and in the human body – and keeping us alive!) changed in Britain over the last 1,000 years.

Alongside this, he used his passion for science and interest in theatre to develop a science communication programme to bring together the interdisciplinary academics at the Australian Centre for Ancient DNA – an effort that resulted in new international collaborations. He has just got back from a cycling tour in the country of Georgia, where he evaded angry guard dogs, navigated roads that were active building sites, and managed to avoid falling off until the last day! The trip was amazing though!

“It would be hard to label anything we’ve done as a mistake because we wouldn’t be where we are now if we hadn’t gone through the process we did.”

Mandy Curtis is the Head of Exhibitions at Cambridge Science Centre. She has been with the Cambridge Science Centre since its opening in 2013, beginning as a Science Communicator, then progressing through the Education team and into Product Development. In her current role as Head of Exhibitions, Mandy oversees everything that is in and delivered at the Centre. She is also responsible for the Centre’s overall look, building maintenance, and alarm systems, as well as keeping the shop stocked with STEM-related items.

Previously, Mandy worked in the pharmaceutical industry and as a school lab technician, where she also ran a STEM club. She was actively involved in Scouting in her village for over 15 years, remaining on the Executive Committee after her own children left and leading sessions for science-related badges, along with serving as the camp cook.

Mandy enjoys walks along the beach in Norfolk with her very large dog, visiting as often as she can. She also loves having her children and their partners back home, especially since they return to their own homes afterward!

What will you learn from this podcast?

• Cambridge Science Centre Background
• Outreach and Community Engagement
• New Centre Development
• Exhibit Design and Programming
• Future Plans and Expansion

Your host, Paul Marden

Our guests, Andrew Farrer, Rebecca Porter and Mandy Curtis

Paul Marden: Hello, everyone. Welcome to Skip the Queue. Becca, Andrew, Mandy, lovely to see you. Really good to talk to you about the experience that you’ve had recently at Cambridge Science Centre, returning to the real world and having your own physical building for the Science Centre. 

Paul Marden: For listeners, I’ve had a little part to play because Rubber Cheese worked with CSC on the journey building websites. So I know a little bit about what’s going on, but there’s a whole load of stuff. I’m sure there’s loads of anecdotes and stories that you’re going to be able to tell us all about the trials and tribulations of building a brand new science centre from scratch. Before we get to that, it would be really nice if we did our icebreaker question.

So I’m going to do one for each of you. Okay. So it doesn’t matter which order I go in because you’re not going to get any benefit from knowing what the question was. All right, so I’m going to start with you, Becca, because you’re first. First on my. On my list. Okay. What one thing would you make a law that isn’t one already? 

Rebecca Porter: Oh, that is very interesting. I’m not sure. the rest of those. 

Andrew Farrer: The rest of us are feeling a bit nervous at this stage. Yeah, Becca’s law is Andrew is no longer allowed in any meeting. 

Rebecca Porter: Yeah, yeah, that’s a good one. I’ll go with that. 

Paul Marden: That’s very specific. I think when I come to power, not if I come to power, I don’t think I dive that spec. I might go more broad. It might be about abolishing foods that I cannot abide eating or something like that. Not particularly. Take one of my team out of a meeting. Seems a little bit wasteful. 

Andrew Farrer: You don’t know what I’m like in meetings. 

Paul Marden: Andrew, what is the biggest mistake you’ve made in your life? 

Andrew Farrer: Working with Becca, obviously. No, no. I just digest. Biggest mistake I’ve made in my life. There’s a lot of things in the moment are very stressful and you think, oh, my. What? Why am I here? Why did I do this? Why did I not think more or think less or whatever? But everything that was probably, this is a massive mistake in the moment just turned out to be a really good story in hindsight. 

Paul Marden: Yeah, absolutely. 

Andrew Farrer: No, I’m happy with all of them. 

Paul Marden: There’s some things that you think, oh, gosh, I really wish I could have deleted that from my memory completely. I spent a year doing a PhD and then dropped out because I realised that I didn’t like working in a box on my own. But I don’t think I would actually go back and not spend that year doing what I was doing, because it took quite a lot to realise that I don’t like sitting in a box on my own and I actually like having other people around me. Yeah. At the time, it didn’t, sitting on the bench at Egham Station, deciding, what am I doing with my life? It didn’t feel like that was such a great decision that I’d made. 

Andrew Farrer: No, but they’re all part of the sort of fabric that makes up the next decision, aren’t they? 

Paul Marden: So, yeah, the rich tapestry. 

Andrew Farrer: That’s it. That’s the rich tapestry of life. 

Paul Marden: And, Mandy, I’m going to go for one last one, actually. It’s not too dissimilar to what were just talking about. What was your dream job when you were growing up? 

Mandy Curtis: Before I answer that, I just have to give you my answer to Becca’s question, because it’s something I discussed at a previous job. If I could make one law, it would be that there was only one type of black sock. 

Rebecca Porter: That’s actually a brilliant answer. 

Paul Marden: Again, hyper specific. 

Mandy Curtis: No. Trying to pair up all those black socks and none of them are quite the same. That is so annoying. So, yeah, that would be my law. 

Paul Marden: I don’t think I need. I think I could broaden it and just say, there is only one type of sock, because my daughter’s sock drawer is not black. There’s not a single black sock in there. 

Mandy Curtis: I couldn’t do that to Andrew. 

Andrew Farrer: You leave my socks out of it. 

Mandy Curtis: My actual question, when I was small, I had, in my mind, I wanted to be a scientist. Throughout all the jobs I’ve ever had, that’s pretty much what I’ve been. And the job I had before this, I worked as a school lab technician and my boss came to me one day and said, “I’ve just got an email from Cambridge Science Centre. Looking for science communicators. I think you’d be really good at it. Why don’t you apply? And I did.” And that was when it was, yeah, this is what I should always have done. 

Paul Marden: So interesting, isn’t it? That’s not a natural leap, is it, from a lab technician in a school to being a science communicator. But there’s so much about teaching which is just telling the story and engaging people and making them want to do stuff, isn’t it? 

Mandy Curtis: Yeah. It’s surprising that there are a lot of parallels. Yeah. The thinking on your feet being one of the biggest ones. 

Rebecca Porter: I actually used to want to be a marine biologist when I was younger, and then I realised growing up that I’m nowhere near the sea where I am now, so that was slightly problematic. And also I saw the movie Jaws for the first time as a child and it terrified me and I quickly changed my mind about that. 

Paul Marden: Okay, let’s segue from Mandy in your science communicator role, because I think it’s a good segue. Let’s talk a little bit about the journey that you’ve been on at Cambridge Science Centre over the last few years. Andrew, I’m going to start talking to you, mate, because I remember vividly last year I was at the association of Science and Discovery Centres conference and you were on stage with the guys from We The Curious, and you were talking about what it was to be a science centre without a building. Yeah.

And the work that you guys were doing in the community for the listeners that weren’t at the conference. Let’s just take a step back and talk about the background of Cambridge Science Centre. You had a physical building, didn’t you? And you moved out of there and you spent a period of time being remote, virtual. I don’t know what the quite the right term is, but you spent a while on the road. What prompted that to leave the previous centre? 

Andrew Farrer: Yeah. So that question that was being asked in the conference that what is a science centre without the building? It’s really something that’s very much in the fabric, the DNA of Cambridge Science Centre. The organisation is 11 years old now and through that time being an organisation that has a science centre and also being an organisation that does the outreach, which is what we would call like going out into the community and into schools and being in the spaces of the people that you’re most wanting to engage, both of those things have existed in parallel and that there are strengths to both having a physical centre and being able to do that kind of Outreach and Cambridge Science Centre from the very beginning that brought those two things together and maximised the benefits of both in service of the other, really. 

So what if you had all of the assets of a full science centre, but you could take them out on the road? What if you have the flexibility of kits that could be taken out the road, that you could do them in a space that you control? So that has always been part of things. We’ve had, you know. The new Science Centre that has just opened is the third permanent location that the organisation has had in its lifetime. And the decision to leave the previous one was something that was taken by the whole team. We got everyone around the table. This was post COVID. We were still coming out of having been truly remote. We’re all about being hands on with science, which is very difficult in the world where you’re not allowed touch anything or stand close to anyone, you know. 

So we had to do a lot of stuff to respond to that. And then we came out of that situation, world came out of that situation and were sort of reconsidering what we wanted to do and how we wanted to do it. And the Science Centre we had up until that point, until 2022, you know, had been a fabulous space. We’ve done some amazing stuff in it. We were very closed of what we’ve done there. But were just finding with the goals we had, with what we wanted to move on to, it was no longer a space that could fit that set of targets. So the question, what was Science Centre without a building? Wasn’t that question stepping up because we decided to lose the building? 

It was kind of, it became a bit more of a focus, but really about the fixed space. Taking a step back for a moment while we really thought about what we wanted. And then we got the amazing opportunity that I’m sure we’ll be talking about in a sec with the Science park and Trinity College, which brought that having a fixed space back up on par with the Science Centre without a building. And those two are still.

They’ve always been, they were and they are continuing to be in parallel. And we’re just about ready to open up one of our new pop up sign centres. That would be a space out in New England which is going to run there for the future as well, which will run in parallel to this fixed space. So it’s not a new question for us, it will never be an old question for us. It is what Cambridge Science Homeset is brilliant. 

Paul Marden: And during that period where you were without a fixed home, what really worked well for you, what was effective about that outreach programme and that was a became the sole focus for a period of time?

Andrew Farrer: I mean were building on what was what we’ve been learning and what had been working well for that point I guess the last nine years. Yeah. So we knew that our exhibits, our hands on exhibits where you can, you don’t just see a phenomenon, you can experience that moment, you’ve been affected, they’re all possible. And so we could take them out. And we’d done that before with setting up sort of science engagement zones in banks and leisure centres. The corner of ASDA one time I think and we evolved that during just after Covid into these pop up science into these fully fledged kind of spaces that were on sort of par with the fixed space. 

And we really lent into that, created these full, effectively full science centres with those exhibits, with the shows, with the activities, with the science communicators who could have the conversations with people and engage with the kids and answer questions and have a bit of fun and have a laugh, all that kind of stuff. In spaces that were underused in the community. We could take over empty shop units. We were in balance of rural museums. We’ve been all over the place and we are in those communities. We become part of the communities in the spaces. They already know it. Yeah. And that sort of eases that sort of barrier. Oh, I’ve got to go to the science place. Because suddenly the place part of that is their place. Yeah. And we’re all about making the science. 

It’s as open and fun as possible and building up with whatever level anyone walks in with. So that was, it really was really kind of having the opportunity to hone that ability to create the proper full science centre spaces. And in getting that honed that raised our level on well, what is the fixed science centre? If you can have a fixed thing, what can you do bigger and better there? Which in Eintrum Nadia will want to speak to later. Because some of the new exhibits are phenomenal and they come out of the learning we’ve had from being on the road and being able to engage people in their spaces and give them a reason now to come to this space. 

Paul Marden: I’m guessing that when you go out into their space rather than making them come to you get to meet and see very different people. You know, the barrier that exists in somebody having to come to your building means there’s a lot of people, there’s a lot of young people, there’s A lot of families for whom a great day out is not automatically thought of, you know, when they’re thinking about what they’re going to do at the weekend, they might not necessarily think of a science centre because it’s just not what they consider to be fun. But if you go out to them, into their spaces where they are familiar, in the corner of Asda, in the Rural Museum or whatever, you’re. You’re getting closer to the people that don’t normally walk into a science centre. 

Andrew Farrer: Absolutely, yeah. It’s all about. Every single person has some form of barrier that they have to deal with. And, you know, many people have many more barriers than others. No matter what we do, there are still barriers to overcome, but it’s about dropping those as low as you can and thinking about getting people across them and supporting them and getting them across them. So, I mean, absolutely, if you say if you’re in their space, you remove the whole suite of barriers that exist into travelling to a fixed science centre, which is something we’re thinking about and trying to then reduce those. For the fixed science centre. There are other barriers that apply. 

Even though you’re in their space and you’ve still got to do a lot of thinking and a lot of work to make sure it’s an inviting space that they feel they’re able to come into, that they can then get comfortable in, and then they can start asking questions and playing with things and break that kind of, oh, it’s not for me bubble. Because it definitely is for everyone. You want each other play. 

Paul Marden: Yeah. Even so, making it an inviting space and making them want to take that step over the threshold into wherever the space is that you are. I’ve watched kids I’m thinking of a year ago, I was at the London Transport Museum and they had a big exhibition all around sustainability in their exhibition space, which is, I don’t know, ⅓ or 3/4 of the way around the museum. And you could just see these kids just stood at the edge watching because they didn’t feel confident that they could step into the space and immerse themselves into what was happening in that space. And you’ve just got to. You’ve got to make it easy for them to take that step over the threshold, haven’t you? 

Andrew Farrer: Absolutely, yeah. And it’s the reason that we have so many different ways of engaging, that the exhibits are there with the activities are there, that the shows are there, that the communicators are there, because people will do that in different ways. What they’re comfortable starting to approach, you know, is different from the depth you can give them later. And people will do it in very different ways. But one of the early pop up science centres we had a day where we had, we partnered with a group from the University of Cambridge called Chaos with a student science engagement team. 

Paul Marden: Right. 

Andrew Farrer: And their name is apt, but they’re brilliant. They’re brilliant. And they were all around the earth and all of these different activities and it was really interesting because we noted that, you know, almost to a Percy, everyone walked in, every kid, every adult and they went straight to our exhibits. Not because Chaos wasn’t inviting, not because they didn’t have cool things, not because they were pushing people away in any way. But it was exactly as you say it was that moment to be like, I don’t know, this space, here’s a thing that’s non threatening, it’s not going to ask me a question. But the Chaos were asking kind of questions that were going to, you know, they were going to get at someone for. But you don’t know that when you’re first walking. 

No, you play with the exhibit, you start to, you know, that’s the safe thing, you start to see what it’s doing and then you receive. People build up the confidence, exactly as you say, and then they kind of wander over and suddenly they were just doing laps of the space were in. Just like repeat visiting every one of these activities. Brilliant. You know, and that’s a mini version of the journey we want to take people on across their lives. 

Paul Marden: Yeah. Okay, so question for all three of you then. What was the motivation then really behind returning to a fixed building? Was it an aspiration that you always had, that you wanted to return to a fixed centre or what was the driver for that? 

Rebecca Porter: We’ve absolutely always had an aspiration to have a fixed venue in Cambridge. Obviously the clue is in the name Cambridge Science Centre. And we knew that we needed that nucleus, that hub that we could operate all of our other engagements from. And certainly from a supporting organisation perspective, it’s very useful for us when we’re having those conversations with external stakeholders about the opportunities to get involved with a physical space as well as our outreach programme. So certainly from that point of view, we had an objective to find one. Interestingly, we’d done a piece of work with a group, there’s a network in the city called Cambridge Ahead and as part of Cambridge Ahead they have a young advisory committee and we’d done a scoping exercise with the young advisory committee Thinking about that positioning, where we wanted to be. 

 And the key takeaway from their research was that we needed a sort of peripheral location, so an edge of city location that was accessible, that could work for, work well for schools, but would also still allow us to have that public engagement. And for us as an organisation, we really wanted to deepen our relationship with some of the communities that were existing a bit on the margins of the city, particularly those in the north that do suffer from varying levels of deprivation. And Cambridge is a very interesting place because despite the fact that it’s got this really illustrious heritage and it’s seen as being very affluent, actually it’s the most unequal city in the uk, or certainly in England. 

Paul Marden: Oh, is it really? 

Rebecca Porter: Yeah. And so we wanted to be able to have our physical space closer to those communities that need more access, need more support, more guidance, so that we could bridge a gap between them and between the Cambridge Science park, which is our new home, but not just the science park, the wider ecosystem and the other research and innovation parks. So, yes, absolutely. We always had an objective to get another physical space operating. 

Paul Marden: Lovely. So, Becca, I’m guessing this doesn’t all come for free and that somebody’s got to fund the work to get the centre together. And that’s your job really, isn’t it, to find people to help you do that, say, how’d you go about doing that? 

Rebecca Porter: So absolutely everything that we do is completely reliant on the support of like minded organisations and individuals. So we go about in lots of different ways. We have a wonderful board of trustees who are very engaged with the work that we do and they help to make introductions to us in their networks. But it really is a case of going out and doing a lot of footwork, understanding what organisations are operating in our space and what their objectives are in terms of community engagement and how do we align with that. So there’s a lot of research that goes on in the background to figure out who we should be talking to. 

It’s wonderful being in a city like Cambridge because 9 times out of 10, most of the companies we talk to do have some objective to do something around STEM engagement in particular. And they’re also very supportive of our own objective, which is to widen participation and increase diversity. So they understand that the work that we’re doing with those children from the most underserved communities is absolutely vital. So that makes it quite an easy story, quite a compelling story to tell. But we are, we’re hugely lucky to have the supporters that we do. And I think key supporters for us are obviously the Cambridge Science park team who enabled the transition into our new venue. Because it was, it all seemed to just line up perfectly really that our own internal discussions around where we wanted to position ourselves. 

We knew we wanted to deepen our own relationships with these various communities. We knew we needed some kind of peripheral centre space. Unbeknownst to us at the time, but happening in parallel, the Science park team were also considering their relationship with their neighbouring communities and how they can enhance that and do more. Because the Science park is actually, it’s a very porous space. So not all of the research and innovation parks are quite the same. But Cambridge Science park absolutely wants to be open to its local communities. It wants them to come in, spend time in the green spaces there and understanding a bit about the different companies that are working within the park. And the Science park as well as the main land owner, which is Trinity College University of Cambridge, again are very keen to support STEM engagement where they can. 

So it felt like they, our objectives at the time as well as the Science Park’s objectives just meshed together beautifully and that resulted in us having this transformational opportunity to be inside the heart of the Science park and alongside that in wider discussions with some of the stakeholders of the park. Specifically were introduced to some of the property development companies that are operating in there who again were very supportive of what we’re trying to achieve, but also had the vision to understand that not only are we supporting the local communities, but we’re offering a conduit for supporting their tenants. So how can we help them to realise their tenants ambitions? And so they’ve been very supportive as well. 

And we’re also incredibly lucky to have a suite of organisations that we refer to as our Executive Council, who are our corporate partners that are the lifeblood of our organisation. Their funding and their support underpins everything that we do. So I want to just recognise our Executive Council members in particular, but also the key stakeholders for us with the new centre are the Science Park, Trinity College, Brockton Everlast, an organisation called LifeArc and ARM the microprocessing chip company. So yes, they’re all major stakeholders and we’re very lucky to have them. 

Paul Marden: That’s amazing. So the Executive Council, that’s quite interesting. What do they have some influence over the work that you do and the direction that you take? It’s more than just them handing over sponsorship money, it’s actually an engagement in what you do. 

Rebecca Porter: Absolutely. Nothing that we do is transactional, so we don’t ever take anyone’s money and run. We always try to offer reciprocal programme opportunities, staff engagement opportunities, and with our executive council members, they really do help shape and influence the trajectory of the organisation. So we have regular meetings with them, we talk to them about what our plans are, where they think there may be opportunities that we aren’t perhaps looking at, that we could be exploring or should be exploring. And they certainly do have that. That level of influence over the direction of the organisation in general. 

Paul Marden: And then I suppose the choice of the location is partly driven by those relationships that you built with Trinity College and the Science park. And I guess it was collaborative, the choice of the location itself. Yeah, you didn’t go looking for a building with some shortlist. There was. You built a partnership with these people and together you found the space that worked for all of you. 

Rebecca Porter: Yeah, absolutely. In fact, the space that we’re currently occupying is a pre existing building, so it’s called the Trinity Centre and it actually was a conferencing space with a catering facility on site as well as the park barbers, interestingly. And so through the relationship with Trinity College and through the discussions with the team in the park, we recognise that actually the space could be working a bit harder, not just for the science park, but for the wider community.

And so we essentially repurposed one half of the ground floor of that existing building and Mandy’s done a fabulous job turning that space into what is now our new Science Centre. So, yes, I mean, personally, I think having been in that space a lot, if you didn’t know it was a conference centre before we took it over, I don’t think you’d ever guess that. So, yeah, it’s been really wonderful. 

Paul Marden: You just cued me up perfectly to turn to Mandy. How do you go about filling a space with all the amazing exhibits to make it from a conference venue into this exciting and inviting science centre? How did you even go about doing that? Did somebody give you a blank sheet of paper and tell you off you go, just do whatever you like? 

Mandy Curtis: Well, pretty much it was a blank slate to work with. But then of course, we’ve got all our experience from the years leading up to this. So we’ve got a suite of exhibits that we know work and we know which ones we wanted to take forward, which ones we wanted to build on and expand on. So although in some ways it was a blank slate, it was very much a guided blank slate. So it’s still a. For a Science centre. It’s still a relatively small space, so we made the decision early on that we wouldn’t have themed areas. So we’re not big enough to have a space corner and a biology corner. So we’ve gone for an experiential centre. So you come in for the experience, you come in for one of the most. The thing for me is intergenerational play and learning. 

So families coming in together, there’s something for everyone. So that led the thinking and the decision making with exhibits and I reached out to lots of different people, existing standing exhibit makers, and some people have never made anything like this before. So we’ve got a real mix here. But what was important was that it’s not somewhere where you walk, where the kids walk in, press a button and walk away. It was about prolonged active engagement. So each exhibit has layers of interaction. So you can come in, do one thing, come back another time and do something different or within the same visit, you can build on what you’re doing. So, yeah, it’s very much about the experience. 

Paul Marden: So is there an aspiration for the kids and the families to revisit to you? Do you want to create this space where they want to return several times over the space of a year or even as they grow up? You’re supporting them through different things that interest them? 

Mandy Curtis: Absolutely. That’s. That’s very much what it’s about. We have a membership where you want to create the feeling of belonging, of being. This is a place to come with annual membership, you can come as many times as you like. Lots of the exhibits will be the same, but because of the way we’ve made them and we’ve prepared them, there’s always something different to do with them. And also we have a programme of shows and lab activities that constantly change, so there’s always something different and new to do in the space. 

Paul Marden: Have you got particular audiences in mind that you want to appeal, make the space appealing to? 

Mandy Curtis: Yeah, we have a very specific audience and I call that everybody. That everything here can be reached by anybody. That’s. Yeah, I don’t exclude or include anybody. That’s why. That’s part of the layering. So younger kids, less able kids, older people, there’s something here for everyone. I mean, obviously we have an age range for children that is most suitable, but there are also things for younger kids. There’s. I mean, quite often we get families coming in and the adults are saying, well, this is way too good for just kids. And that’s exactly how I feel about it as well. It’s. It’s a family place, it’s for pretty much any age group, any. Any abilities. Yeah. 

Paul Marden: So how do you make that. If you’re appealing to everyone, how do you make it more inclusive to kids with challenges? Kids with send difficulties, for example? How do you provide something that can enrich everybody’s understanding of science? 

Mandy Curtis: It’s really about having some familiar things here in two different ways. So there’s familiarity in that. We’ve got some of our classic exhibits on site, so if people have ever been to one of our previous sites, there’ll be things that they recognise from there, but also bringing in things from the outside world, from their world at home. So one of the exhibits is a paper plane launcher. I mean, who hasn’t made a paper plane? So it’s stuff that they’re familiar with, but come here and do it and it just brings out a whole new level. So we talk about ways you can build a better paper plane, ways you can adjust your paper plane, and then, of course, just putting it through the launcher is just incredible fun. So it’s taking stuff that people know about and can relate to and that’s really important. 

So some of the, some concepts that we want to get across are potentially outside of people’s experiences completely. But if we can present it in a way that starts at level that they’re familiar with, they can relate to and engage with, then there’s a progression through and we’re able to get concepts across that you might, if you went straight in at the top level, you just, it just wouldn’t engage them in the same way. 

Rebecca Porter: To add to that, I just wanted to say that our magic pixie dust, if you will, that brings everything to life, really are our team of science communicators. So that also, you know, that’s what, you know, brings every experience in the Science Centre to life is our wonderful team. 

Paul Marden: Yeah, I mean, that’s this, that. That’s like every good attraction, isn’t it? It’s never about the physical space, it’s about the feelings that you get and it’s the people that are there that help you build that feeling, isn’t it? That’s why it’s a magical place that makes people want to come back, isn’t it? How do you also serve that very local community? Have you found that by locating yourselves on the science park, where you are close to those areas of multiple deprivation within the city? Have you found that just mere locality is enough to encourage people in or are you actively doing things to bring that local audience to you? 

Rebecca Porter: Absolutely both. So we’re already doing a lot with one particular community. There’s a part of the city called King’s Hedges and we see a group of children there once a week for an after school club and have just started transitioning that club from their own space. We’ve been operating it in their community centre but now they are coming to us, which is fabulous. And one thing that I’ve really loved since we’ve opened the new venue is our proximity to those particular communities.

An example of how much more accessible we are is that we did a soft launch before we did our major public opening in the summer with some local schools, one of which was King’s Hedges Primary School, and the teachers were able to just walk the children to us and that’s never been possible before. 

And we’ve got much bigger plans to expand the community focused piece to other parts of the city because we would really love to have at least four days a week where we’re running an after school club of some description for groups around the city that face additional barriers. So, yeah, we are all over that. 

Paul Marden: That’s amazing. It sounds so exciting. I run a coding club for kids at my daughter’s school. A lot of it is about the engagement that the kids have. They don’t get that enrichment outside in those STEM technology. So for you guys to be reaching out to that local community and offering that after school provision for them to be engaged in science, then there’s a group of kids that just must lap that up. They must love it. 

Rebecca Porter: Absolutely. And I think Andrew’s always said that for us, we obviously there’s lots of extracurricular clubs. You’ve got drama clubs and dance clubs and acting clubs, but very rarely do you come across anything science focused. And what we would love to see moving forward is that’s normalised that actually you can go to an after school club, that it’s all about science and it’s just part of the everyday offering that’s available to children, particularly those local to us. 

Paul Marden: And have you found, I mean, it’s probably too early to tell, but have you found that it’s beginning to blur the lines of the science park into the community? Because there’s something about Cambridge, isn’t there? And the whole he’s a world leading hub of science and driving science forward and making science commercially valuable happens at that point where the university meets the rest of the community around it. Are you seeing that you bringing the kids into the space is beginning to open their eyes to what is possible for them on their own doorstep. In terms of science. 

Andrew Farrer: Yeah, I think we are seeing the first steps of that, you know, in your previous questions and what Mandy and Becca have said, I think they’ve, you know, referenced and alluded to the layers. We’re talking about the new centre as if, you know, it’s open and therefore it’s done. It’s not done, we’re not done, you know, and yes, getting those exhibits in there and all of the work that Mandy put into making them so generalist enough in the sense that, you know, these age ranges, these ability ranges, these, you know, whatever range you want to talk about can access them. But then it is, what’s the programming? We only really launched, the soft launch was end of June. The big launch was, you know, end of July. Really. 

That only covers 2 of the audiences that we’re on, which is the schools and the sort of public inverted commas. There’s the everyone this half term we’ve started that work with the North Cambridge Community Partnership Club that has been moved in that Becca was talking about. But that is very much step one next year is all about filling those four afternoon slots with such a variety that work in such a different way. It’s about bringing in the schools throughout the days, throughout the week. It’s about flexing those weekends. As Mandy said, it’s about finding what all of these different organises, local and more further afield want, need, what their questions are, things like that. 

Andrew Farrer: We’re here to respond so we can create sessions that the generalist concept of the centre might support those in the send community, but we can create a session where it’s okay. This will be the quieter session. This will be where we’ll have timings on the exhibits that allow will change the lighting. And we’re still sort of exploring and thinking about how we do that. Right. So that the experiences is just as good, just as strong, just as inspiring and isn’t affected by the fact that something might have been slightly altered. And there’s a flip side to that. There are people who are much better at engaging when there’s a lot going on. It’s almost like there’s a hyper sensitivity. There’s things to think about on that side as well.

So this is a project that 2025 will see a lot of work on, but really is a never ending process. As long as there are people and as long as there are individuals which can help deliverance, then we are there to make sure. That everyone gets the access and that means using all of the physical kit, we’ve got all of these physical spaces and our team to respond as, you know, as much as we can. So. 

Paul Marden: So is there much for you? Did your team of science communicators have to do much to get themselves ready to return to the physical space? Or did they walk in the door and it just felt like home straight away? And they were delivering what they’ve been delivering for 11 good years? 

Andrew Farrer: Yeah, there was an element of coming home and there’s an element of this is what we do. Because as I said, the outreach and the permeable space are singing in harmony, as it were. But this new space does have. It’s new and it’s bigger and better and more accessible than anything we’ve been able to do for. And that has brought things that we haven’t experienced before. So we, you know, we made ourselves as kind of theoretically ready as we could.

There have been challenges both from a practical running an event venue to how do we. How do we do silent science communication when we are constantly learning? We’ve changed things already, you know, we’re flexing and responding and they affect the things that we wanted to bring in the future that I was referencing before they change each plan. 

And we have a lovely timeline, it’s very exciting, very big map, lots of post its that shows where we want things to start happening, but each of those responds to that. So there’s no one single ready. And again, even when you are as close to ready as might exist, just like the programmes that we offer, that readiness evolves as well. You keep learning. 

Paul Marden: Of course. So what were those challenges then? What can we share with listeners? What were some of the things that if you had another swing at it, you’d do differently through this process that you’ve gone through this transition? 

Andrew Farrer: That links back to your, what was your biggest mistake? We only knew we learned because we tried something that didn’t in theory worked, you know. Yeah, I mean, there’s just some sort of like general practical thinking. You implement a system and then only when it’s actually put through its paces you realise, oh, hang on, there’s this like scenario tangent that we haven’t thought about. There’s, you know, there’s a few things on that front about practically running the. Running the space. As Becca said, that the science park is porous, but we are one of the big things that is now bringing the public in. So there’s, you know, murmuring is in that as well because that porosity has been used in the way it hasn’t been previously. And we’ve been thinking about when are people coming during the day, when are they. 

Their repeat visits happening? Which means when do we cycle the lab activities in the show? Talking about, you know, we can do a different show every day but you know, that’s probably overkill because people aren’t going to come quite every day. But actually what cycle are they coming on so that we can make sure that we, you know, we’re providing sort of an awe inspiring moment and a set of curiosity experiences on a wide variety of different topics so that we can find that thing that sparks everyone. 

Mandy Curtis: Just to add to what Andrew said, I think it would be hard to label anything we’ve done as a mistake because we wouldn’t be where we are now if we hadn’t gone through the process we did. So even stuff, very few things that didn’t quite work out well, we’ve learned from and we’ve moved on and we’ve built on. So everything has, I feel everything we’ve done and has been a positive experience. It’s all been, you know, it’s all been good. 

Paul Marden: It’s a very philosophical approach to it, isn’t it? The idea that it’s never done, the project isn’t over, it just continually, you know, it needs continual tweaking and continual improvement. 

Andrew Farrer: It’s a scientific approach, if anything.

Mandy Curtis: Much as I promised I would be laying down in a dark room by now, I’m not and I won’t be. And we’re still, you know, there’s, we’re planning, we’re moving forward and looking to next year at the programmes and what we can offer. So yeah, there’s always something more to do. 

Paul Marden: Once again, you’re queuing me up for my next question, which was really what do the goals look like for the future? You’ve done this massive project, returning to a physical space and getting it ready and opening it up and welcoming people in. Where do you go now? What are the aspirations for the next couple of years? 

Mandy Curtis: It’s more of the same, better, more different, looking at different approaches at different audiences. We’re going to be. I’m already planning and writing the STEM Tots programme for next year. So that’s the younger kids, the preschoolers, so there’s new audiences all the time to move into. There’s school holidays, you know, kids have been over here over the summer for the next school holiday, they’re going to want something different. So we’re thinking about that, how we can encourage people to come back, what we can offer, what different things, different collaborations. However many companies on the science park. I don’t know, Becca probably does. There’s people we haven’t even spoken to yet. So there’s just opportunities everywhere still. 

Rebecca Porter: For us, I would say that we are, it’s definitely a programmes expansion piece next year. So we need to really solidify what we’ve got now with our new venue and start building out those different audiences and what the different programmes for each audience will look like. And then it’s also making sure that our Popup science centre in Wisbeach continues to go from strength to strength.

And so certainly, although we’ve got this fabulous new venue, we don’t lose focus on the outreach work that we’re doing as well as building up, building momentum around our support. And Andrew’s doing a really wonderful job putting some work into our logic model and our theory of change. And so again it’s mapping that out and then how we can link that to, to our, to the work that we’re doing. 

The supporting organisations, what role can they play in pushing forward our logic model? In particular, we talk a lot about emotions, skills and actions as being what underpins our logic model and it’s how can our different partners lean into those things? Are there organisations that want to support the emotions piece? Can we do a skills focused programme with another organisation? So there’s still lots of mapping to be done, but hugely exciting stuff. 

Andrew Farrer: Opening the doors to the centre was really only the beginning. Now it’s making the absolute amount, squeezing every bit of juice out of this amazing fruit that we’ve been lucky enough to be supported to build for ourselves. 

Paul Marden: Stretching your analogy just a little bit there, but it’s a very good point. 

Andrew Farrer: What analogy if you can’t stretch it to its unfathomable limits? 

Paul Marden: Andrew, one last question because I think a couple of you have mentioned the Popup Science Centre. Tell me a little bit about what is that and what’s the plan for the future? 

Andrew Farrer: Yeah, so our Popup science centres are fully fledged science centres. They appear in community spaces. So the ones that I mentioned earlier and they feature our hands on exhibits, they feature our shows, they feature our activities and we are in November moving into a empty well, it’s currently empty, but we’re about to fill it chalk unit right in the heart of Wisbeach in the Fenland area. So the Fenland region which is on the north of Cambridge, one of these areas that if transport around the area is difficult, sort of deprivation in that area. But there are some great pieces of science, technology, engineering and maths, you know, organisations working in those areas as well. 

But it’s one of those places where for all of the efforts we put into breaking down the barriers to come into the fixed space, that’s one of the areas that we’re really struggling. So we’re going to that there’ll be a fully fledged science centre which will be open to schools and the public on those points through the year to go in, to explore, to have these workshops, to have these shows, to engage, to chat. We are kind of, this is coming off the back of, one of these 18 months long project where we’ve had these pop up science centres sort of around Fenland. This is kind of where we’re settling in and really sort of digging our heels in a little bit. So sort of phase two will start to become much more co development with the community. 

We’ve been able to spend 18 months getting to know the people of this area and then importantly getting to know us. It’s now exactly back to what I was talking about earlier. It’s been sort of equivalent of the kids walking in and seeing the exhibits and having a play. Now we’re ready, both of us and them to have this conversation about well what should a time centre be for you specifically? And honestly we don’t know what that will be. But next summer Cambridge Centre and Wis beach will become this whole new thing where there might be forensic escape rooms happening. There could be some giant chain reactions going on with balls and bean bags flying everywhere. People could be building cardboard cities. 

I’ve got no idea because it’s actually not down to us, it’s down to the people who want to answer the questions that are part of their lives. 

Paul Marden: Wowzers. It’s just amazing. I’m so excited for you. I’m so pleased because it’s been a project that I’ve been watching from the sidelines growing. I’m so pleased that the project’s not over and that there’s an aspiration to really push this thing and squeeze it for all it’s worth. 

Andrew Farrer: Just like my analogies. 

Paul Marden: Absolutely. Lastly, we always ask for a book recommendation and you’re going to bankrupt me because I’ve invited three of you on here. So I’m going to get three book recommendations. So what are your recommendations, Becca? 

Rebecca Porter: First, first for you, I would say I’m actually a huge fan of an author called Philippa Gregory. And so my favourite book would be The White Queen by Philippa, which is all about Elizabeth Woodville. And Shima was married to I believe Edward IV during the Plantagenet era. So I love a bit of historical fiction. So that’s my one. 

Paul Marden: Aha. Okay. So my colleague and co host Oz, big into historical reenactment. I’m sure that would be a book that would appeal to him. Andrew, what about you mate? What’s your recommendation? 

Andrew Farrer: I have a book this is about I’ve had for years. I mean it’s a kid’s book really. It’s a book called Aquila by someone called Andrew Norris and it’s one of these books that it’s about a short book. I keep revisiting it every now and again. It’s just a story I’ve always engaged with. But it’s funny, looking at it now, it almost seems very relevant. So it’s about two young high school lads who on a school field trip get passed away from the rest of their class and end up falling into a cave and discovering a Roman centurion skeleton and by him what turns out to be an alien spaceship. So the navy spaceship have been on earth for some 2,000 years. 

And the rest of the book is they don’t want to just tell everyone else that the spaceship is here and it’s them figuring out okay, well we can’t take it home now because we’re on a feeder trip so we’ve got to figure out a way to come back and get it home without anyone seeing it. And then they’ve got to learn how it works. And it turns out that it’s kind of got AI function I guess and it can talk but because it was previously used by Roman, it taught in Latin. So they have to learn Latin. It turns out it’s run by water. They figure out how much water. And it’s a really brilliant story about these kids solving all of these problems around having quite that fun Canadian spaceship. 

But at the same time their teachers are aware that these two kids who’ve classically not engaged at school at all are suddenly asking all of these really weird non class related questions. And yeah, they figure out the whole spaceship thing but think it’s story they’ve made up for themselves. And so I give them the actual support and engagement they need in school to learn better than they were. But everyone misses that the spaceship is totally real, that these kids are flying off like Mount Everest on the weekend. So I love that. 

Paul Marden: Excellent. That sounds really good. That sounds like one I need to read to my daughter. Mandy, last but not least, what’s your recommendation? 

Mandy Curtis: Just to say Andrew’s book was made into a kids’ TV series that I remember watching. Yeah, I’ve just. The most recent book I’ve read was one from way back. Not fiction. It was Life on Earth, David Attenborough and I reread read it often. It was the series that really sent me on my way to where I am now when I. I was doing unusually a zoology A level and my teacher played us the videos of Life on Earth and yeah, I’ve never got, never moved away from it. So yeah, that’s the book I’ve read most recently and would recommend. 

Paul Marden: What, what a recommendation as well. That’s a lovely one. So, dear listeners, as you know, if you go over to X and retweet the show, tweet and say I want Becca or Andrew or Mandy’s book and the first person that does that will get that book sent to them. And I think as we got through recommendations, three of you could choose any one of those and we’ll make an exception and bankrupt the marketing budget.

Guys, it has been absolutely lovely talking to you and finding out a little bit more about the story of the journey that you’ve been on recently. And I think we should get back together again soon and find out how the pop up is going and what’s actually filling that vacant shop because I think that’s a really exciting proposition. But thank you for joining me today. It’s been absolutely marvellous. 

Mandy Curtis: Thank you. 

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Author:

Oz Austwick

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