Identifying the need
In the early 2000s, science education in schools was delivered almost exclusively by teachers. A number of science centres had opened, but these concentrated mainly on attracting visitors to the centre rather than going out into the schools to support the delivery of science education. One unfortunate consequence of this was that many teenagers (particularly girls) lost interest in science.
Wendy Sadler was determined to change that. She believed that science could and should appeal to everyone, if only they were suitably inspired. Wendy was a graduate in Physics and Music
with considerable experience of developing science education programmes for centres in both Australia and the UK.
She believed that most younger children are excited by science and how things work. But for many people that enthusiasm was lost as they became teenagers. Wendy thought that if the enthusiasm could be sustained, teachers would find the task facing them easier, and more children would succeed in science. So, in 2002, she established Science Made Simple to motivate young people to help maintain their inquisitive minds throughout their time at school and beyond into adulthood.
In the early 2000s, science education in schools was delivered almost exclusively by teachers. There were a number of science centres, but these concentrated mainly on attracting visitors to the centre rather than going out into the schools to support the delivery of science education. One unfortunate consequence of this was that many teenagers (particularly girls) lost interest in science.
Wendy Sadler was determined to change that. She believed that science should and could appeal to everyone, if only they were suitably inspired. Wendy was a graduate in Physics and Music and had considerable experience of working in science centres and developing science education programmes in both Australia and the UK.
She believed that most younger children are excited by science and how things work. But for some reason for many people that enthusiasm was lost as they became teenagers. Wendy thought that if that enthusiasm could be sustained teachers would find the challenge facing them easier and more children would succeed in science. So, in 2002 she established Science Made Simple to motivate young people to maintain their inquisitive mind throughout their time at school and beyond.
The early years
Science Made Simple’s first show Music to Your Ears, was developed by Wendy as part of the National Schools’ Lecture Series. It was designed to appeal to both science and non-science audiences and combined her two favourite subjects. It is still going strong today and remains one of Science Made Simple’s most popular shows.
Bookings quickly started to flood in and soon Wendy needed to employ additional staff and formalise the organisation’s structure. This led to Science Made Simple being incorporated in 2004 as a spin-out company from Cardiff University.
Expansion
At around this time, there was significant growth in the number of science festivals taking place across the UK. These events served a different audience from that in the schools and provided an opportunity to inspire and enthuse people of all ages in the wonders of science. Naturally, Science Made Simple hopped on the festival circuit. Over the years science festivals have remained an important market for Science Made Simple, but interest has expanded and SMS now presents its range of science and engineering shows for other types of cultural event such as Glastonbury, Green Man and FUNHarmonics for the London Philharmonic Orchestra.
The growth in business naturally led to expansion. The company opened branches in the north of England, Norwich and finally Milton Keynes, concentrating on developing close collaboration with the Open University.
At around this time, there was significant growth in the number of science festivals taking place across the UK. These events served a different audience from that in the schools and provided an opportunity to inspire and enthuse people of all ages in the wonders of science. Naturally, Science Made Simple hopped on the festival circuit. Over the years science festivals have remained an important market for Science Made Simple, but interest has expanded and SMS now presents its range of science and engineering shows for other types of cultural event such as Glastonbury, Green Man and FUNHarmonics for the London Philharmonic Orchestra.
The growth in business naturally led to an expansion in the numbers employed and in 2007 The company opened its branch in North England with the appointment of David Price. Soon after that the Cardiff headquarters were further developed with the employment of new staff there and branches in Norwich and then Milton Keynes, which concentrated on developing close collaboration with the Open University.
A bridge between research and the public
The company’s reputation for building positive relationships with schools, families and festivals led other organisations to ask for help in developing science communication skills and messages for public engagement. Science Made Simple’s training services grew from this, working with museum and science centre staff, academic research groups and professional networks.
Science Made Simple now works with research councils, universities and industry to develop material on contemporary science topics and to help them translate technical information for non-technical audiences. We support researchers to engage with the public directly, and work on consultancy projects to develop materials.
This access to cutting-edge research content is fed back into our shows and workshops, keeping them current and relevant for all. See who we work with here.
International recognition
In addition to expanding the geographical areas covered by Science Made Simple, the company also continued to expand and develop its portfolio of shows and workshops. One of the most successful and innovative was Visualise. This show grew out of a problem the company was facing delivering shows overseas. The British Council had been keen to engage Science Made Simple to deliver programmes across Europe and the rest of the world but as an important part of any show is its interactive nature, any show which used simultaneous translators would lose much of its spontaneity. To address this problem Wendy developed a new show which would be delivered without words. Visualise was an immediate hit and led to Wendy being awarded the European Descartes Prize in 2008. As previous winners of the prize included David Attenborough and Bill Bryson, this recognition was hugely important to her and the company. The show is still available today and has been the inspiration for many imitations by other companies.
In addition to expanding the geographical areas covered by the Science Made Simple, the company also continued to expand and develop its portfolio of shows and workshops. One of the most successful and innovative was the Visualise Project. This show grew out of a problem the company was facing delivering shows overseas. The British Council had been keen to engage Science Made Simple to deliver programmes across Europe and the rest of the world but as an important part of any show is its interactive nature, any show which used simultaneous translators would lose much of its spontaneity. To address this problem Wendy developed a new show which would be delivered without words. Visualise was an immediate hit and led to Wendy being awarded the European Descartes Prize in 2008. As previous winners of the prize included David Attenborough and Bill Bryson, this recognition was hugely important to her and the company. The show is still available today and has been the inspiration for many imitations by other companies.
Facing the future
The company recently celebrated its twenty first birthday and celebrated by getting staff old and new together for a celebration event. Science Made Simple continues to go from strength to strength.
The expertise and enthusiasm of the staff allow the company to look forward with confidence to the next twenty one years and beyond. It will continue to work towards its goals of changing attitudes towards science, of encouraging girls into following science at school and university, of creating the next generation of scientists – able to communicate complex thoughts for a lay audience – and of ensuring that everyone has access to and confidence in STEM.
The company recently celebrated its twenty first birthday and celebrated by getting staff old and new together for a celebration event. Science Made Simple continues to go from strength to strength.
The expertise and enthusiasm of the staff allow the company to look forward with confidence to the next fifteen years and beyond. It will continue to work towards its goals of changing attitudes towards science, of promoting girls into following science at school and university, of creating the next generation of scientists, able to communicate complex thoughts for a lay audience and of ensuring that everyone has access to and confidence in STEM.
Our patron – Helen Czerski
We’re delighted that Helen Czerski accepted our invitation to become patron of Science Made Simple. Helen is a physicist, oceanographer and broadcaster with a passion for science, sport, books, creativity, hot chocolate and investigating the interesting things in life. She’s an expert on bubbles and acoustics too, so she’s definitely a kindred spirit to the mission of our team!
Helen has presented a number of brilliant science programmes on BBC4 and Radio 4 and is the author of the highly acclaimed book; “Storm in a Teacup: the physics of everyday life”.
Helen said “I’m delighted to be the new Patron of Science Made Simple because learning about the way the world works has so much to offer all of us – it’s not just the delight of curiosity satisfied, or the fun of finding things out – science changes our perspective on the world and provides the critical framework that citizens need to make everyday decisions. Science Made Simple does a great job of sharing this message.”
Helen has also made us a short film sharing her tips on how to make a good science video for our 60 second video competition. You can find out more about all the things she’s done here.
We’re delighted that Helen Czerski accepted our invitation to become patron of Science Made Simple. Helen is a physicist, oceanographer and broadcaster with a passion for science, sport, books, creativity, hot chocolate and investigating the interesting things in life. She’s an expert on bubbles and acoustics too, so she’s definitely a kindred spirit to the mission of our team!
Helen has presented a number of brilliant science programmes on BBC4 and Radio 4 and is the author of the highly acclaimed book; “Storm in a Teacup: the physics of everyday life”.
Helen said “I’m delighted to be the new Patron of Science Made Simple because learning about the way the world works has so much to offer all of us – it’s not just the delight of curiosity satisfied, or the fun of finding things out – science changes our perspective on the world and provides the critical framework that citizens need to make everyday decisions. Science Made Simple does a great job of sharing this message.”
Helen has also made us a short film sharing her tips on how to make a good science video for our 60 second video competition. You can find out more about all the things she’s done here.
Awards & highlights
We are proud of what we are achieving and we are proud of our colleagues. Our presenter staff are gold standard, LAMDA trained public speakers. Over the years the company and its staff have won a number of awards and prizes. Here is a list of some of the awards as well as other highlights in the history of Science Made Simple.
2017 – Wendy is awarded an MBE in Queen’s Birthday Honours for services to science and engineering communication
2017 – Science Made Simple celebrates its 15th birthday with an event at the Senedd
2017 – Science Made Simple wins the Institute of Physics William Thomson, Lord Kelvin Medal and Prize
2016 – Wendy gives the opening keynote speech to SciFest Africa
2015 – Science Made Simple wins the Leading Wales Award for Social Enterprise
2015 – Science Made Simple staff perform in Poland, China, Kazakhstan, the USA and Korea
2011 – Wendy is appointed to the Science Advisory Council for Wales
2009 – David is awarded the Manchester Science Festival Josh Award for Outstanding Innovation in Science Communication
2009 – Royal Academy of Engineering medal for the Public Promotion of Engineering
2008 – UK RC Woman of Outstanding Achievement Award
2007 – Descartes Prize for Excellence in Science Communication
2007 – Institute of Acoustics’ Award for Promoting Acoustics to the Public
2005 – Institute of Physics Young Professional Physicist of the Year Award
2004 – Women in Science and Engineering Excellence Award
2004 – Welsh Woman of the Year (Science and Technology)