In 2002, the event's first year, pupils began their day at the Science Museum, where Dr Sue Mossman and her team guided them through the Challenge of Materials Exhibit at the Science Museum. The group of more than 70 school children and their teachers then moved onto the Royal Society where students were introduced to members of the London Materials departments. The departments gave presentations on ceramics, polymers and biomedical applications for materials, and students were able to explore possibilities at the ‘Materials in Action' Exhibit. Since then a similar programme has been put together each year where pupils spend the morning at the Science Museum and the afternoon at Imperial College London.

The 2006 event was hosted at the Wallace Collection. Among its many treasures it houses one of the finest collections of French eighteenth century pictures, porcelain and furniture, seventeenth-century paintings and a superb armoury. The Wallace Collection offers the pupils an informative but pleasurable experience while offering an outstanding resource for teachers. The rich variety of the displays enables a wide range of subjects to be studied. The building has the most sumptuous interiors of any museum in London, offering pupils an impressive experience of what the house of a wealthy nineteenth-century art collector would have been like. The Armoury comprises the most important collection of Arms and Armour outside the Royal Armouries.

A typical Schools Event day will commence at 10 am with a tour of the host museum and will continue with presentations on ceramic, metallic and polymeric materials, and a practical session where pupils will investigate the purpose, materials, production and style of a particular specimen from the host museum. The day normally ends at 3 pm. Pupils and teachers usually also have the opportunity to meet and talk to members of the Materials Departments of various London based universities.

The day's activities will mainly support the National Curriculum in Science (Grouping and classifying materials; looking at ways in which man has exploited and changed characteristics of materials such as metal and glass) and Design & Technology (many examples of different materials and their uses, mechanisms and structures). The tour of the host museum will also support other subjects such as art, history and English.

If you would like your school to participate in the Annual Schools Event please contact Dr. Ian Thompson.