Name: Cambridge West Family Day
Start: 2026-03-21T09:30:00+00:00
End: 2026-03-21T18:00:00+00:00
Location: West Cambridge Site

All day departments on the Cambridge West site will be opening their doors for experiments, games, workshops and more! Please note: times vary from department to department so do check when you are planning your day!
Some events require booking, all details on our website.
Discover the world of Materials Science through interactive displays and activities at the Department of Material Science and Metallurgy (9.30am-4.30pm). See how new materials help save energy, learn how windows can generate electricity and make a metal wire change shape without touching it!
Pop along and visit the Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology (10am-2pm) where you will turn berries into power and learn how light and chemistry come together to make electricity, become a detective with colour in this interactive demo using student-built spectrometers to reveal what’s hidden in everyday liquids, and step 100 years into the future to see today’s Cambridge research imagined as the discoveries of tomorrow and so much more.
The Cavendish Laboratory are hosting their first Physics Festival (10am-4pm) at the brand-new Ray Dolby Centre. Learn about the history of the Cavendish, enjoy physics demonstrations, experiment with a camera obscura overlooking Cambridge, marvel at the cosmos at a planetarium session and see how our physicists are using light to detect disease faster, cheaper, and more effectively than ever before.
The British Antarctic Survey (10am-4pm) are inviting everyone down for day exploring the ice. Step into our icy world and find out how scientists, engineers and innovators are uncovering the secrets of our frozen poles. From the bottom of the oceans to the edge of space, our research helps guard the future of our planet.
The Cambridge Vet School (10am-4pm) are inviting all future vets to come and get insight into life at the Veterinary Hospital and what it’s like to work there and study Veterinary Medicine at Cambridge! There will be hands-on activities for all the family plus talks with animal health themes!
The Department of Computer Science and Technology (10.30am-4pm) is holding a range of fantastic events from stopping an evil hacker from destroying the internet and finding a missing science professor to robot wars and virtual tours.
Over at the Institute for Manufacturing (1pm-5pm) discover some of the secrets of the manufacturing process. Put on a VR headset and travel through a real cocoa supply chain, learn about the aerodynamics of airplanes, as well as take part in a fun competition where participants must make paper airplane, see some of the latest science-based products from local companies and win a prize for thinking of the most original ways to use them and more!
The Institute of Astronomy (2pm-6pm) is opening its doors for an afternoon of hands-on activities, demonstrations, talks and displays all around the wooded site. Meet the scientists and the telescopes and learn more about both astronomy and the research they do.