The fun begins as soon as you open the box. Press out then slot together 61 cardboard parts (no glue required!), add two elastic bands and you’ll soon have one fully working pinball machine. The build should take around 60 minutes and is suitable for engineers-in-training aged 8 and up.
Once it’s ready, load up the five swirly glass marbles and see if you can make them fly up the ramp, through the bumpers and round the vortex cone! Challenge your family to see who can get a high score on your very own DIY pinball machine!
This eco-friendly STEM kit is: ✅ Designed for ages 8+ ✅ Mess-free and fun to build ✅ Perfect for developing dexterity and reflex skills ✅ Made in the UK using high-quality sustainable cardboard
Whether you’re building it as a family project or battling it out for the best score, you’ll love every minute.
How to enter
To be in with a chance of winning one Build Your Own Pinball Machine kit, simply answer this question in the comments below:
Which of the below is a category of energy?
a) Kimchi b) Kindred c) Kinetic
This competition closes at midnight on 30th September 2025. One lucky winner will be chosen at random from all correct entries. For full terms and conditions, click here.
Are you looking for fun and simple British Science Week activities to celebrate this year’s theme, “Change and Adapt”? We’ve got you covered with a FREE science resource pack filled with hands-on experiments that your class will love!
Why ‘Change and Adapt’ is a Brilliant Theme
This year’s British Science Week theme encourages children to explore how things change in the world around them—whether through chemical reactions, forces, materials, or biological adaptation. It’s a fantastic opportunity to tie science into your curriculum in a way that’s engaging and memorable.
Free School Resources Pack – Throw A Science Party In Your Classroom!
To help you plan a curiousity-awakening, exciting (and most importantly, stress-free) British Science Week, we’ve got an amazing science freebie for you: a FREE ‘Science Party’ pack packed with six exciting experiments designed for KS1 and KS2. These hands-on activities will spark curiosity, encourage problem-solving, and bring science to life!
Each experiment explores the “Change and Adapt” theme through fun, interactive investigations that are easy to set up:
🟢 Making Chromatography Decorations – Explore how colours separate and create beautiful patterns! A perfect mix of art and science.
🔵 Bed of Pins Balloon Experiment – Discover how forces work by testing whether a balloon can survive being pressed against a bed of pins!
🟠 Fizz Pop Bang Edible Powder – Experience chemical reactions that you can taste!
🟣 Static Slime – Investigate static electricity while making an ooey-gooey slime that moves with an electric charge!
🟡 Magic Colour-Changing Icing – Learn about acid-base indicators in a fun and edible experiment that will leave your class amazed!
⚪ Incredible Invisible Ink – Uncover secret messages using simple kitchen ingredients—just like a real scientist (or spy)!
Each activity is easy to set up with minimal resources, making it perfect for busy teachers who want maximum impact with minimal prep!
Like all of Whizz Pop Bang’s science teaching resources, the science behind each activity is explained in simple, age-appropriate language, making planning and teaching these fun lessons an absolute breeze.
PLUS Here’s an Amazing Offer on School Subscriptions and Downloadable Resources!
Save 20% on our school subscriptions and downloadable resources for the first year as well as our school bundles. Simply add code SCIWEEK25 at check out.
British Science Week is the perfect opportunity to ignite a love for STEM in your classroom. Whether your pupils are experimenting with chemical changes, forces, or electricity, our Science Party Pack will keep them engaged and excited.
British Science Week 2025 is an exciting annual celebration of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) in the UK. Taking place from 7th to 16th March 2025, this nationwide event features a variety of science activities, workshops, and events for children and adults alike. Whether you’re a budding scientist or simply curious about the world around you, there are plenty of ways to engage with science during this week-long festival.
How to Take Part in British Science Week 2025
Getting involved in British Science Week doesn’t have to be complicated. Here are some easy and fun ways to explore science:
Try kitchen science experiments at home
Visit a science museum or exhibition
Attend a science talk or fair
Join a citizen science project
Enter the British Science Week poster competition
The goal of British Science Week is to spark curiosity and excitement about STEM subjects, making science accessible and enjoyable for all ages.
You don’t need a high-tech lab to explore science—many exciting hands-on experiments can be done using everyday household items. Simple ingredients like vinegar, baking soda, and food coloring can lead to fascinating discoveries.
Science museums and exhibitions are packed with interactive displays and hands-on experiments, making them a great way to engage kids with science. During British Science Week, many museums and venues host special STEM events, workshops, and science shows. Find your local science centre here!
Looking for science events near you? Check out the What’s On in Science Week listings to find both in-person and virtual science activities happening from 7th-16th March.
The British Science Week poster competition is a fun challenge for children aged 3-18 years old. This year’s theme is “Change and Adapt”, and young scientists can submit creative posters for a chance to win all sorts of science prizes.
Submission deadline: 3rd April 2025
Encourage your child to showcase their creativity and love for science by entering the competition. Find out more here.
From DIY science experiments to museum visits and STEM competitions, there are so many ways to celebrate British Science Week 2025. Whether you explore science at home, attend an event, or take part in a citizen science project, it’s a fantastic opportunity to learn, discover, and have fun with science.
Fill your child with science wonder with a subscription to Whizz Pop Bang, the award-winning magazine for 6 to 12-year-olds. Watch their face light up with glee when their very own magazine zooms through the letterbox! Packed full of hands-on science awesomeness, it’s the gift that keeps of delighting, month after month.
When cornflour is mixed with water, it becomes a goo that flows like a liquid until it is hit or pressed – then it acts like a solid. Watch the video below to find out what happens if cornflour is placed on a speaker that is vibrating and making sound waves.
The cornflour goo is getting continually hit by the vibrating speaker, making these weird and wonderful dancing cornflour figures!
This cornflour and water mixture is sometimes called oobleck, and you should definitely try playing with it at home! Here’s a recipe for how to make this slime-like substance…
You will need: Mixing bowl Spoon Cornflour or custard powder Water Food colouring (optional)
What you do: 1. Place four heaped tablespoons of cornflour or custard powder into a bowl. 2. Add a splash of water and stir the mixture. Keep adding water a little at a time, until the mixture is about the same consistency as honey. 3. If you add too much water, add some more cornflour or custard powder. 4. Add a little food colouring if you like and mix it in.
Watch the video to find out more about the strange properties of this special substance.
Spark their imagination with the Dino Discovery Bundle—a fantastic set of three dinosaur-packed magazines! This exciting collection of prehistoric puzzles, hands-on activities and fascinating facts will inspire any young dino fan.
Did you know that Whizz Pop Bang’s bargain bundles of back issues are a great way of giving the awesome science magazine for kids a try? Three issues – £14.99 (that’s just £4.99 per issue!) Six issues – £27.99 (that’s £4.66 just per issue!) Twelve issues – £49.99 (that’s just £4.16 per issue!) PLUS ALL PRICES INCLUDE FREE UK P&P!
🌟 What’s Inside the Dino Discovery Bundle?
Your young explorer will have the chance to make, discover, and investigate incredible prehistoric wonders!
🛠️ Make…
Encourage hands-on learning with fun dinosaur-themed activities that help kids explore the science behind these ancient creatures! 🦕 Fold a walking paper dino 🦕 Craft a pegosaurus 🦕 Bake sauropod footprint cookies 🦕 Erupt a fizzing volcano 🦕 Cut and stick a 3D T. rex that appears to follow you around! 🦕 Make a strata pot 🦕 Model replica teeth, bones and shells 🦕 Create a nodding stegosaurus 🦕 Fly a soaring pterosaur
🔍 Discover…
Your child will uncover mind-blowing dino facts, including: 🦕 The link between dinosaurs and birds 🦕 Did dinosaurs fart themselves to extinction? (Yes, really!) 🦕 Pterosaurs that were as big as aeroplanes 🦕 Dinos taller than houses 🦕 Terrifying sea predators that ruled prehistoric oceans 🦕 What life in the Cretaceous period might have been like
🧐 Investigate…
Your little scientist will dive into fascinating experiments, learning: 🦕 How pterosaur crests may have helped them fly 🦕 The science behind gliders and how they soar without engines 🦕 How asteroid and meteorite craters form 🦕 What happened to plants after the asteroid impact that wiped out the dinosaurs
More Exciting Science Bundles Available!
Looking for more educational fun? Explore our bargain magazine bundles packed with STEM experiments, space adventures, and prehistoric discoveries!
Whether your child is an aspiring scientist, a creative thinker, or an outdoor adventurer, this gift guide is filled with engaging, educational, and fun ideas that inspire curiosity, creativity, and exploration. These gifts are perfect for hands-on play, learning, investigating and creativity.
If you’re interested in eco-friendly gifts, you’re covered – you’ll find plenty of presents here that are printed using only paper from FSC/PEFC certified suppliers. That’s Christmas, sorted!
For Scientists-in-Training (Aged 6-12)
Nurture their love of discovery with these hands-on science gifts that are both fun and educational. They’re perfect for children who love to explore new ideas, solve puzzles, and embark on imaginative journeys.
Letterbox Lab – The Explore Box Suitable for explorers aged 6-12, each box is filled with exciting experiments that make science fun and accessible. All consumables needed for each experiment are included!
Letterbox Lab – The Investigate Box More advanced experiments for kids aged 8-12 who are ready to dive deeper into science, delivered to your door every month.
Whizz Pop Bang Snip-Out Science Book Craft paper volcanoes, flying machines and more with this book of hands-on projects that blend science, creativity, and fun.
Whizz Pop Bang Science Scrapbook A creative space for young scientists to plan investigations and record results of experiments.
Space magazines Explore the Sun, Moon, Mars and the stars in this epic collection of space-themed science magazines.
Lab coat This science essential keeps clothes in tip-top condition during even the messiest experiments!
More Gifts We Love!
Dinosaur magazines From prehistoric flying beasts to the story of extinction, Whizz Pop Bang’s back issue collection is full of fact-packed reads for any wannabe palaeontologist.
Whizz Pop Bang Joke Book Get ready for some super science-y giggles, with over 200 hilarious jokes to get the whole family laughing out loud!
Hoopla: Secrets and Spies Tiptoe into the world of secrets, spies and codes! Design a fantastic face mask to hide your identity, make your own cipher wheel, cook treats with hidden messages inside and solve some safe-cracking puzzles. Head outside to look for nature clues as you make a beautiful wristband, plus there are riddles, jokes and a colouring page to enjoy.
Whizz Pop Bang Riddle Book Test their wit and problem-solving skills with this fun and engaging collection of over 150 tricky teasers.
Whizz Pop Bang Puzzle Book Jam-packed with more than 150 brilliant brain-bending puzzles, all with a science twist! With so many puzzles to get stuck into, it’s sure to keep your child busy for hours and hours!
Hoopla: Treasure Hunt Shine a light on glittering treasure! Grow your own edible crystals, craft a shining star and go on a treasure hunt! You can find out about shimmering goldfish and bake some delicious treats to give as a gift. Plus there are puzzles, jokes and a treasure-themed quiz.
Here’s a record you CAN try to beat at home. The farthest flight by a paper aeroplane made from a single sheet of A4 paper is 88.31 metres! Find out how to make another record-breaking plane here:
Have you ever wondered if it’s possible to skydive without a parachute?! Head this way for the answer (and to watch a jaw-dropping video all about it!)
Find out about more amazing record-breaking journeys in Whizz Pop Bang 113: FESTIVE SCIENCE FUN!
🎄 Watch a chain of beads flow upwards and out of a glass – this is surely the most fun you can have with your Christmas decorations! Every year, our children look forward to this moment almost as much as the big day itself!
🎄 You’ll notice that the chain arcs over the rim of the glass, going upwards, before being pulled downwards. So how does it work? This is a cool physics problem to ponder! It happens because the chain acts like lots of connected little rods. When you pick up one end of a rod, that end of the rod goes up, and the other end tries to go down. However, if the downward force is stopped by the pile of beads below it, there is a small kickback, and the rod is pushed upwards. That upwards thrust at each link in the chain is what makes the chain rise. This is an easy activity to try for yourself at home! Just make sure that you feed the chain gradually into the glass from one end so that it doesn’t get into a tangle when it’s flowing out. You could experiment with letting the chain fall from different heights (for example by standing on a step compared to sitting down) to see if that makes a difference to the height that the chain reaches.
🎄 Have you ever seen a chain fountain in action before? Watch a Mould effect video, otherwise known as a chain fountain phenomenon video here! It’s the perfect simple science experiment to try at home!
Special Christmas Offer
Use coupon code: XMAS23
For a limited time, whilst stocks last, we’ll send you a FREE copy of the 100th edition of Whizz Pop Bang when you purchase a new subscription using the coupon code XMAS23.
Imagine how excited your child will be to receive all of this on Christmas Day…
• Our movie edition ‘LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION!‘ as your first magazine
• FREE copy of the ‘SCIENCE PARTY‘ magazine!
• FREE gift card printed with your message to the child
• FREE festive packaging
Plus, your child will receive a magazine addressed to them through the letterbox every month!
Each month will bring a whole new world of excitement, with topics like Ancient Greeks, Outer Space, Bees, Aliens, Rainforests and Medicines.
HURRY! Order by midnight on 17th December for your items to be dispatched by Royal Mail’s last posting date for Christmas. This offer ends on 20th December or until stocks last. Place your order today to make sure your child doesn’t miss out.
Use coupon code: XMAS23
At the checkout, when asked ‘When would you like your subscription to start?’ select ‘Delivery as soon as possible‘.
* Christmas offer only valid on new 6 and 12-monthly subscriptions using the code XMAS23. At the checkout, when asked ‘When would you like your subscription to start?’ select ‘Delivery as soon as possible.’ Order by midnight on 17.12.23 for your items to be dispatched by Royal Mail’s last posting date for Christmas. Offer valid while stocks last or until midnight on 20.12.2023. Don’t forget to use the code XMAS23 at the checkout. Not valid in conjunction with any other offers.
We’ve got THREE bumper sets to give away from Connetix worth £115 each!
We have an epic giveaway this December, this is not one you want to miss out on! We’ve partnered with Connetix and have three massive, 120 piece magnetic construction sets to give away.
The Connetix 120 Piece Pastel Creative Pack makes playtime engaging and educational, sparking boundless creativity and promoting educational, playful experiences for children of all ages. This amazing creative pack offers a spectrum of shapes in 8 delightful pastel colours, making it the perfect canvas for constructing impressive Connetix creations, from intricate designs to grand-scale masterpieces.
Whether children are absorbed in solitary play or engaging with friends and family, constructions toys like this one from Connetix spark STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and, Mathematics) learning while nurturing fine and gross motor skills. Kids can assemble towering castles, futuristic rockets, majestic towers, sturdy bridges, and much more.
The high-quality, open-ended pack seamlessly adapts to your child’s evolving interests and abilities, providing a platform for increasingly complex and imaginative play experience
For your chance to win, simply answer this question in the comments:
We’ve got three Glow-In-The-Dark sets from National Geographic to give away! Scroll down to find out how to enter.
Explore glow-in-the-dark science with PUTTY, SLIME, CRYSTALS AND MORE!
Inquisitive minds will love discovering the world of glow-in-the-dark by making glowing slime and growing their own crystals!
The National Geographic Glow-in-the-Dark Mega Science Kit is an astounding collection of experiments and activities that all glow when the lights are out!
There is so much included in this Mega Kit: one glowing crystal seed, two DIY slime powders in glowing green and glowing purple, two slime containers, one glowing putty in a storage tin, one wernerite rock, one UV light, and a full-colour learning guide that takes you through each experiment step by step. Don’t worry, if you’re not a lucky winner, this kit is also available to buy from Amazon, perfect for Christmas presents!
To win one of THREE kits, answer this question in the comments:
How do most fungi reproduce?
A) Seeds
B) Pollen
C) Spores
This competition closes at midnight on 31st October 2023 and is open for UK residents only. For full terms and conditions visit whizzpopbang.com/terms-and-conditions
Thanks to Bandai, National Geographic and Playtime PR for this brilliant prize!
