November 18th, 2025.



Saturday November 29th sees the return of the popular Lewes STEM Festival. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.

Established back in 2016, the primary goal of the Festival is to encourage young people to develop an interest in STEM by engaging them with the wealth of local STEM activity. Last year, over 1,200 children and adults visited the busy Town Hall which had over 30 engaging exhibitors, including the University of Sussex, Gatwick Airport and the Observatory Science Centre at Herstmonceux. Children and families were delighted by gooey potions, taste tests, infrared cameras, telescopes, and do it yourself electronics. When asked what could be done better next time, most visitors said ‘Make it last longer!’

This year’s Festival will take place from 11.00am to 3.00pm on Saturday the 29th of November in Lewes Town Hall. As in previous years, the Festival is free to attend and no booking is required.

There will be a wide range of activities available suitable for children aged 5+ as well as adults. Students from local universities will be there so it's also a great opportunity for GCSE and A-level students to have a chat and start exploring where their future lies. Refreshments will be available, so you can recharge between exploring the exhibits.

Professor Stephen Wilkins, Chair of Curiosity Sussex which organises the event, said: “We want people to feel confident about science and last year it was just great to hear the happy chatter and laughter around the room as the community got the opportunity to try it for themselves with loads of hands-on activities. I loved seeing my colleagues at the University explain their cutting edge research to young people and getting them to have a go too.”

The Lewes STEM Festival is run by Curiosity Sussex, a small science education charity which is entirely volunteer-led. The charity received a Lewes Town Council Community Grant, which paid for the venue. Exhibitors offer their time for free, often as part of their community outreach programmes.

If you are involved with a local business or other organisation in the STEM field and would like to get involved then please let us know by emailing curiositysussex@gmail.com.