Overview
The Big Bang Fair 2026 welcomed 20,749 young people and 2,364 educators over 3 days. Our evaluation includes survey responses from 1,967 students and 136 educators.
Student enjoyment remained high at 88%, and most students reported increased knowledge of STEM jobs, motivation to explore them, and interest in STEM careers.
Girls were positive about their experience, particularly enjoying making, designing or being creative, and most responded positively across all outcomes measured in the survey. Educators were overwhelmingly positive, with 96% rating The Fair as excellent or good, and most reporting greater knowledge and confidence to discuss STEM careers with students.
This year’s report also includes a new element, findings from our observations of 99 activities and informal discussions with Fair supporters. Overall, our observations showed strong engagement across the show floor, especially for hands-on activities.
This report offers recommendations to sustain and build on these outcomes for future events.
Key findings
88% of students enjoyed The Fair, with high levels of engagement across all demographic groups
strong impact on STEM outcomes:
94% of students reported increased knowledge of what people working in STEM do
86% were motivated to find out more about STEM jobs
84% reported increased interest in STEM careers
79% felt more confident they could do a STEM job
78% felt STEM jobs were suitable for someone like them96% of educators rated The Fair as excellent or good, with most reporting improved knowledge and confidence to discuss engineering and technology careers with students
very few significant demographic differences, with young people from backgrounds underrepresented in the engineering and technology workforce responding positively overall
recommendations from our observations of student activities include building a hands-on element into at least one stand-out activity, strengthening careers content across stands, and training volunteers to adapt their delivery
The Big Bang Fair 2026 evaluation report
Who is this for
employers
STEM outreach organisations
researchers
PEIs
policy makers
Overall, 98% of students said they developed at least one skill at The Fair. “At The Fair, I got to do things that helped me …”
The Fair is fully inclusive for all students and it immerses them in all things STEM under one roof. It is the only opportunity for students to see and learn so much with clear focus and take aways to give them a better understanding of the world of work and STEM.
— STEM teacher
I enjoyed how interactive each exhibit was for students to be readily engaged and start conversations. In this day where technology is so prevalent, young adults find it difficult to start conversations with other people. Therefore, having the exhibits where there was something for the students to do allowed the conversation to flow, also the staff were very friendly and open.
— Science teacher
