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We make science fun and friendly

​All our science activities are hands-on and interactive. Our Communicators are full of energy and enthusiasm – they capture the imagination and attention of children of all ages.

​We break down the barriers to stem

​We take our exhibits and activities into schools, town halls, churches, city centre shops, sports halls – in fact almost anywhere! This allows us to reach out to all communities taking extra effort to build lasting relationships.

How many people do we reach?

Since the foundation of the charity, Cambridge Science Centre has engaged with over half a million people.

In 2023, Cambridge Science Centre embarked on a year of positive experimentation, refining our delivery methodologies and tweaking our approach to ensure maximum impact.

This effort resulted in reaching:

– 60 Schools and 8,846 pupils through outreach.

– 36,681 young people in community and family groups at our Cambridge
pop-up venues.

– 6,367 toddlers and their carers at our innovative STEM Tots Centre.

– 9,105 young people and their adults living in the underserved Fenland area
throughout our STEM in the Fens project.

That’s a total of 52,153 engagements over the year!

Download our Annual Review

Our Ambassadors

We are delighted that Professor Dame Athene Donald and Lord Martin Rees, Astronomer Royal, supports Cambridge Science Centre’s work as our ambassadors. We are incredibly proud of our ambassadors, who are crucial to our charity’s work and would like to thank them for their continued support.

Professor Dame Athene Donald - Ambassador, Cambridge Science Centre

Professor Dame Athene Donald

Professor of Experimental Physics, University of Cambridge Dame Athene Donald became a Professor of Experimental Physics at the University of Cambridge in 1998 and is Master of Churchill College, Cambridge. She was appointed DBE in the 2010 Queen’s Birthday Honours in recognition of her services to physics.​ Dame Donald has also chaired many committees within Cambridge and beyond and has served as the University Gender Equality Champion (2010-14). As well as being an ambassador of Cambridge Science Centre, she is also a member of the Scientific Council of the European Research Council and a Trustee of the Science Museum.

Professor Dame Athene Donald
Lord Martin Rees, Astronomer Royal

Professor Lord Martin Rees

Astronomer Royal Professor Martin Rees is a Fellow of Trinity College and Emeritus Professor of Cosmology and Astrophysics at the University of Cambridge. He holds the honorary title of Astronomer Royal as well as Visiting Professor at Imperial College London and at Leicester University. In 1973, he became a fellow of King’s College and Plumian Professor of Astronomy and Experimental Philosophy at Cambridge (continuing in the latter post until 1991) and served for ten years as director of Cambridge’s Institute of Astronomy. From 1992 to 2003 he was a Royal Society Research Professor, and then from 2004 to 2012, Master of Trinity College, Cambridge. In 2005, Professor Rees was appointed to the House of Lords, and he was President of the Royal Society from 2005-10.

Professor Lord Martin Rees
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Our Trustees

Cambridge Science Centre relies on the support, expertise and passion of our staff, volunteers, Board of Trustees and Executive Council. ​Our trustees are a respected group of individuals who are just as passionate as we are about supporting the next generation of scientists. Their input and support is crucial to the success of our work as an educational charity.

Harriet Fear, Trustee of Cambridge Science Centre

Harriet Fear MBE, Chair of Cambridge Science Centre Trustee Board

Harriet was a Diplomat for over 20 years with the British Foreign Office. She served in 17 countries, in various roles including Deputy Ambassador 3 times, Head of Press and Public Affairs and Head of Commercial Services. She regularly served in hostile environments, trouble-shooting specific crises including in the Congo, Cambodia and Ethiopia. Half her diplomatic career was spent in the commercial field, helping SME’s trade internationally. For 5 years she was the Head of the Governments national Life Sciences and Healthcare Trade Team. ​Harriet was Chief Executive of One Nucleus from 2009 to 2017, which became the largest life science and healthcare membership body in Europe under her leadership and won a major award as ‘Best Global Life Sciences and Healthcare membership organisation’ in 2016. She was involved in the thinking behind Cambridge& from its earliest days in 2018 and led it from incorporation until the end of 2023. Harriet was the Prime Minister’s Business Ambassador for Life Sciences for 5 years to 2018. She has worked at the heart of the Cambridge business ecosystem since 2003. She was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List 2016 for her services to Healthcare and Life Sciences.

Jonathan Drori, Trustee of Cambridge Science Centre

Jonathan Drori, CBE FLS FRGS FZS MIET FRSA

Jon is an experienced trustee and chair with a background in technology, media and science communication. He is currently a Trustee of The Eden Project and Raspberry Pi Foundation, a board member of Cambridge University Botanic Garden and an Ambassador for the WWF. Previously, he has been Chair of Ravensbourne University London, and Trustee of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and the Woodland Trust. At the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), Jon was founding Director of Culture Online, a programme to extend the reach of science and arts using new techniques. His team won twenty-eight major awards, including four BAFTA’s, the National Newspaper Awards and the UN World Summit E-Learning Award. At the BBC, Jon led the development of world-first services such as GCSE Bitesize and supervised national campaigns promoting numeracy and computer literacy. As Executive Producer and Director, he was responsible for more than fifty science and engineering TV series. Author of Around the World in 80 Trees, a widely translated bestseller entwining science and culture, Jon is a frequent public speaker on science topics. He was awarded a CBE in 2006.

Amanda East, Trustee of Cambridge Science Centre

Amanda East

Entrepreneur in Ink Jet Technologies. Graduated from Wadham College, University of Oxford, in engineering in 1981. There were just 15 women in a 150-strong engineering department during her time at Oxford. She joined Cambridge Consultants Ltd – a technology and innovation company – before starting her own ink jet company. As she rose through the ranks, she found that being a woman in a male-dominated environment had its advantages: “You were always noticed and not forgotten,” ​ she says. After 18 years in Industrial Ink Jet, she left work to concentrate on bringing up her three children. Later she started a family property company, which she continues to manage. As well as being a Trustee of the Cambridge Science Centre, Amanda is a Governor of The King’s School in Ely. She also runs the Relithan Charitable Trust alongside her husband Warren East, CEO of Rolls Royce, providing generous support for our charity’s work over the years.

Dr Lucinda Spokes, Trustee of Cambridge Science Centre

Dr Lucinda Spokes

Head of Public Engagement, University of Cambridge. Dr Lucinda Spokes Head of Public Engagement, University of Cambridge Lucinda studied Chemistry at the University of Birmingham. She moved to the University of East Anglia for her PhD and post-doctoral research on the impact of human activity on our oceans, conducting fieldwork across the world, on land and at sea. ​ During this time, Lucinda developed a real enthusiasm for sharing research more widely. She moved into science outreach as part of an EU funded education project, producing the first online climate encyclopaedia for the public, and then to the education charity STEM Team East. At STEM Team, East Lucinda promoted and delivered STEM enrichment and engagement education throughout Cambridgeshire and East Anglia. As part of this role, she developed activities for the University of Cambridge Science Festival. ​ This led to a position as Cambridge Science Festival Manager. After eight fabulous festivals, Lucinda now heads up the University of Cambridge Public Engagement Team where she oversees the Festival as well as helping support researchers and the public to engage collaboratively, effectively, and enjoyably with each other, sharing information, ideas and inspiration. ​ With her extensive experience in science communication and public engagement, Lucinda brings valuable expertise of our sector to the Board.

James Marsh, Trustee of Cambridge Science Centre

James Marsh

Senior Associate, Private Client Advisory, Birketts LLP. I joined Cambridge Science Centre as a legal trustee in February 2022. It is my first time as a charity trustee and I am excited about the challenges ahead. ​ I am a solicitor by trade and joined my current firm (Birketts) as a Senior Associate in the Private Client Advisory Team in July 2021. I am based in their Cambridge office and have over 13 years’ experience in the field of wills, trusts, tax and probate. My Cambridge clients include academics, business owners, high net worth individuals and other professionals. ​ Since beginning my career as a solicitor I have sat as a committee member of Cambridge Law Society and have also been a committee member of the Cambridge branch of STEP (Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners). ​ Helping and supporting people is at the heart of my work. I meet many of my clients at what is often a challenging or emotionally difficult time in their lives. Guiding clients through their situation and using my legal expertise to help them get the best result possible is extremely rewarding. Indeed, one of the most gratifying aspects of my work is when clients tell me I have helped them through a very difficult period. ​ Given my lifelong love of learning, my enjoyment of museums, and my passion for inspiring others, I look forward to working alongside my co-trustees at Cambridge Science Centre to encourage a love of STEM subjects among school children.

Amy Weatherup, Trustee of Cambridge Science Centre

Amy Weatherup

Amy Weatherup is a serial entrepreneur who has held senior sales, marketing and business development roles in both start-ups and multinational companies, and now focuses on turning university research into practice. ​ She was co-founder and marketing director of STNC Ltd., a venture-backed start-up which was the first company in the world to put web browsers onto mobile phones and was acquired by Microsoft in 1999. ​ More recently she has focused on the commercialisation of University inventions, and in helping the next generation of entrepreneurs develop the appropriate skills. She founded and runs the Cambridge University i-Teams programme where multi-disciplinary teams of students work to assess the best route to market for new university inventions, and which has resulted in over 90 technology and life sciences startups so far. ​ She is also a Trustee of Birthlight which translates the latest anthropological and medical research into practical ways of helping mothers and babies. ​ Amy continues to work with technology start-ups, as a Non-executive Director at Audio Analytic Ltd., which brings a sense of hearing to a wide range of electronic products, and as a regular advisor to DeepTech Labs and TechNation. ​ Amy has been deeply involved in the education sector since her own children started at school. She is currently a founding Trustee at the University of Cambridge Primary School and a Trustee at the Eastern Learning Alliance. ​ Amy holds a degree in Mathematics from Trinity College, Cambridge, and plays viola and saxophone in her spare time.

Douglass Cuff, Trustee of Cambridge Science Centre

Douglass Cuff

Senior Vice President of U.K. Real Estate for IQHQ, Inc. Douglass Cuff is the Senior Vice President of U.K. Real Estate for IQHQ, Inc. He has over 20 years’ experience working in life science real estate sector. Prior to IQHQ, Mr. Cuff had various roles at BioMed Realty during his 14+ year tenure. Doug and his family relocated to Cambridge, in 2012 with the acquisition of Granta Park. He expanded the initial U.K. portfolio by negotiating 2 pre-lets with major international life science organizations. Additionally, Doug crafted a partnership with the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council at the Babraham Research Campus. In 2019, Mr. Cuff joined IQHQ as one of the first employees. Then in September of 2022, Doug and his family have moved back to Cambridge to oversee IQHQ’s expansion into the UK with their IQHQ’s first acquisition on the Cambridge Science Park. He received a Master’s in Business Administration from Boston University and a Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences from Fordham University in New York City. Doug’s is half English, on his fathers’ side, and still has family in Cambridgeshire. As a child, he would spend holidays visiting his Cambridge family in Ely.

Jason Mellad, Trustee of Cambridge Science Centre

Jason Mellad

CEO, Start Codon. Jason is a scientist entrepreneur passionate about translating innovative technologies into better patient outcomes. As CEO and co-founder of Start Codon, a Cambridge based venture builder, he aims to identify the most disruptive healthcare founders and innovations worldwide, seed fund them and leverage the exceptional resources of the Cambridge cluster to de-risk and drive the success of their start-ups. Previously he was CEO of Cambridge Epigenetix and Business Development Manager for Horizon Discovery’s diagnostics division. He also served as an associate at Cambridge Enterprise, the technology transfer office of the University of Cambridge.

Bruno Cotta, Trustee of Cambridge Science Centre

Bruno Cotta, BEng CEng MIET MA MBA MCMI

Bruno has over 30 years of leadership and management experience working with public, private and third sector organisations, from entry-level students to board-level executives, local startups to global corporates and others in research, education, healthcare, philanthropy, industry and government. He has contributed to regional, national and international innovation policy in the UK, Europe, Middle-East and Asia, including London Mayor and UK Prime Minister’s Offices, European Commission, Emirate of Abu Dhabi’s Education Council and Foreign Secretary’s UK-India Roundtable. Bruno has led initiatives to shape world-class university strategic plans, international partnerships and innovation ecosystems, including founding the Enterprise Lab at Imperial College London and directing the Entrepreneurship Centre at the Business School in Cambridge to support the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs. He was a founding member of Imperial’s Business School Alumni Advisory Board and made Visiting Fellow for advancing flagship STEM and multidisciplinary innovation and entrepreneurship. Bruno’s voluntary work includes serving as a Fellow on the Governing Body at Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge where he supports leadership, careers and enterprise initiatives, and as a Visiting Fellow at Cambridge Judge Business School. He also serves on advisory boards for several University of Cambridge organisations, and the Governing Board of Chesterton Community College, Cambridge (Eastern Learning Alliance multi-academy trust) focusing on supporting art and design, music and drama.

Serena McMillan Trustee Cambridge Science Centre

Serena MacMillan, Research Associate at the University of Cambridge

Serena has a long connection to Cambridge, studying for her undergraduate degree in Natural Sciences at Selwyn College before moving to the Department of Surgery where she recently completed her PhD in 2024. She is now a post-doctoral researcher continuing her research on changing the blood group of human kidneys to make universal donor organs for transplantation. During her studies, Serena discovered a passion for sharing her research with a broader audience. This led to her involvement in Cambridgeshire school outreach, where she conducted career Q&A sessions and research presentations aiming to inspire the next generation of scientists. Serena has extended her engagement efforts through the Cambridge Festival and Big Biology Day. Since 2022, she has been delivering public lectures on transplantation research and running family-oriented activity stalls to promote biomedical research and organ donation. Now, Serena continues to advance STEM education and research, leveraging her extensive experience in science communication and public engagement to inspire, mentor, and lead within the scientific community.

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Our Team

Cambridge Science Centre is all about people! Our passionate professionals are always on hand to help make your experience fun and enjoyable.

Rebecca Porter, Head of Development, Cambridge Science Centre

Rebecca Porter

Chief Executive Officer, Senior Leadership Team

Rebecca Porter
Email Rebecca
Mandy Curtis, Head of Exhibitions, Cambridge Science Centre

Mandy Curtis

Head of Exhibitions, Senior Leadership Team

Mandy Curtis
Email Mandy
Andrew Farrer, Head of Programmes and Delivery

Andrew Farrer

Head of Programmes and Delivery, Senior Leadership Team

Andrew Farrer
Email Andrew
Claire Elbrow, Head of Marketing, Cambridge Science Centre

Claire Elbrow

Head of Marketing, Senior Leadership Team

Claire Elbrow
Email Claire
Dana Nugumanova, Schools and Delivery Assistant

Dana Nugumanova

Dana Nugumanova, Schools and Delivery Assistant

Dana Nugumanova
Email Dana

Karin Hager

Finance, Administration & Office Manager

Karin Hager
Email Karin
Joanne Staines, Science Communicator, Cambridge Science Centre

Joanne Staines

‘STEM in the Fens’ Project Lead & Science Communicator

Joanne Staines
Katy Roper, Science Communicator, Cambridge Science Centre

Katy Roper

Community Development Officer

Katy Roper
Mario Satchwell, Science Communicator, Cambridge Science Centre

Mario Satchwell

Science Communicator

Mario Satchwell
Amy Burton, Science Communicator, Cambridge Science Centre

Amy Burton

Product Development Officer

Amy Burton
Sophie Lawson, Science Communicator, Cambridge Science Centre

Sophie Lawson

Science Communicator

Sophie Lawson
Cheryl McAndrew at Cambridge Science Centre

Cheryl McAndrew

Science Communicator

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