The activities are tailored for different audiences, including primary and secondary school children, teachers and the general public. By including examples of discoveries made at Southampton in the fields of photonics (the physics of light) and microelectronics, they aim to show how fundamental research impacts positively on people’s lives. The activities are presented by the researchers themselves, giving participants the opportunity to meet and talk to scientists, often for the first time.

Activities include The Light Express Roadshow, a series of spectacular laser displays and fascinating visual demonstrations that explore photonics and the science behind the internet. Another programme, Lightwave, delivers hands-on photonics workshops in schools, giving children the opportunity to explore the principles behind internet data transmission and gain an understanding of what researchers really do.

To reach a general public audience, the researchers also exhibit at large-scale science events. In recent years they have had stands at shows such as the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition and Southampton Science and Engineering Festival, where they demonstrated the Water Transistor. This interactive model uses water to show how transistors (the switches inside modern electronics such as smart phones) work and has become a permanent exhibit at the Winchester Science Centre. Photonics-focused demonstrations and activities at non-science events, such as the ‘Reflecting Photonics’ garden at the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Tatton Park Garden Show and ‘The Photon Shop’ at the Light Up Poole! digital arts festival, brought the science behind the internet to audiences that might not otherwise have sought it out.

These activities are rigorously evaluated to measure their effectiveness, for example through paper-based and online participant surveys.