Big Bang Fair

Each year, Leonardo is proud sponsor and attend the Big Bang Fair, offering visitors to our stand the chance to discover the exciting world of engineering. Unfortunately, given the risks to the general public relating to Coronavirus, the 2020 show was understandably cancelled. However, we look forward to returning in 2021 with some great interactive activities for visitors to enjoy.

The Big Bang Fair is the largest celebration of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) for young people in the UK. It aims to show young people (primarily aged 7-19) how many exciting and rewarding opportunities there are out there for them with the right experience and qualifications.

Through the Big Bang Fair and a series of regional and local events, the organisation works with partner organisations – across business and industry, government and academia – such as Leonardo, to try and give a flavour of the real scale of engineering and science in the UK.

Taking place at the NEC in Birmingham during mid-March, the Big Bang Fair features over 200 organisations from the public, private and voluntary sectors. It is led by EngineeringUK in partnership with the Royal Academy of Engineering, and supported by numerous sponsors from industry, academia and the public sector.

Interactive Activities for Aspiring Engineers

Amongst the interactive activities we showcase on our stand are:

Rampaging Chariots

We will be showcasing Rampaging Chariots at the Big Bang Fair in a custom-built arena featuring a Robot Wars style assault course. Visitors will have the opportunity to test their skills putting some powerful and lightweight robots through a series of challenges. Use your driving skills to navigate around this year’s assault course and learn about electronic engineering techniques that are the basis of many of the many of the most complex engineering programmes being developed across the UK. Can you beat the clock and claim the day's best time?

VR Experience

Our VR Experience, which hasn't been featured on our stand at the Big Bang Fair previously, lets you can interact with some of the awesome engineering and technology that we produce, from helicopters to helmets. See them as if the equipment is right there in front of you!

Thermal Camera Selfies

Visitors have the opportunity to uncover hidden surroundings by viewing the show through our latest thermal technology which has been used to capture amazing footage on several BBC nature series, including Planet Earth 2 (video), The Great British Year (video), Earth Unplugged (video), Springwatch and Big Cats. Take a selfie with the thermal camera to see how cool (or warm) you really are!

Attendees are also encouraged to share their thermal photos on social media using #BBFthermal in their post.

Wind Table & Rotor Blade Design

Discover how helicopters really work. Using our rotary blade testing wind table, you can experiment with different blade designs to improve your lift. Put your aeronautical skills to the test and challenge your friends to find out whose blades will be the best! Just try and ensure the weight, aerodynamic properties and wind remain stable.

Download our rotor blade template

Sphero Challenge

Try your hand at our Sphero Challenge, delivered in partnership with The Smallpeice Trust, where you need to navigate a table-top assault maze on your own programmed route.

In association with Smallpeice Trust.

On our stand, there will also be the opportunity to chat to some of our apprentices, graduates and placement students about STEM careers, learning about the exciting work we do around the world developing cutting-edge technology.

Visit the Big Bang Fair website