Be a part of Science Museum's Lates

Why join us?

We offer you the opportunity to run an activity with lots of very keen and eager-to-engage adults. In some cases, we may be able to offer financial assistance to help support your activity.

Upcoming themes

Upcoming themes include:

• Science fiction
• Wellbeing
• The 75th anniversary of the NHS
• Gaming 
• Play 
• Music 
• Stargazing and space 
• Climate change and sustainability 
• Social inequality and inclusion linked to STEM topics

Please note that we confirm all events for each theme around 8–9 weeks before the event.

What we're looking for

Three different types of events fit into Lates:

1. Talks

• 30 minute talks, informal Q&A session facilitated by a Science Museum staff member, or in-conversations between two knowledgeable people
• Caters to around 100 people over the night
• Introduces people to a concept and enthuses them about it
• Engage the audience with a new perspective on a familiar topi

2. Drop-in events

• Run from 18.45–21.30
• Caters to around 400–600 people over the night
• Informal sessions allowing visitors to speak directly with participants about their work
• Can be anything from showing off new technology or demonstrating scientific concepts to a performance or an experience
• Visitors especially enjoy highly interactive activities that engage multiple senses e.g. touch, smell, even taste

3. Workshops

• Run from 18.45–21.30
• Caters to around 500 people over the night
• Can be something that everyone contributes to create a collective result
• An alternative is a ‘make and take’—something for visitors to create and take away that can be completed in 15–20 mins, makes no mess and is rewarding and aesthetically pleasing
• Can also involve people learning a task, e.g. dance, drumming, knitting, games etc

4. Performance

• Drop-in experiences from 18.45–21.30 or timed and repeated 2+ times
• Our visitors love experience creative performance from dance, music, poetry and storytelling

Things to bear in mind

• Audience interaction: how will you keep your audience engaged?
• Jargon free: our audiences generally have no specific scientific knowledge so technical language must be kept to a minimum
• Humour: Lates visitors always respond very positively to added humour
• Social media: opportunities for our audiences to show their appreciation
• Costs: we have very limited funding but we can offer some assistance
• Resources: as a museum we are sometimes restricted in what we can do
• Health and safety: risk assessments and method statements will be required for most activities