About Cambridge Science Centre

We are here to support children and young people build a lifelong love of science through inspirational hands-on activities.

Location Cambridge Science Centre
The Trinity Centre
Cambridge Science Park
Milton Road
Cambridge
CB4 0FN Directions

What’s On Are you ready for an extraordinary fun-packed day out? What’s On

Schools Cambridge Science Centre is the perfect destination for your school trip! Schools

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.

2024 was a defining year for Cambridge Science Centre as our brand-new venue in Cambridge Science Park opened and has become a vibrant hub for hands-on STEM learning – a place that welcomes families, schools, and communities with warmth, energy, and opportunity.

– Over 3x more visitors to our new Centre

– Over 30% of visitors returned within 6 months

– Critical ages 7-11 remain our majority young audience

– 23 weeks of in-depth engagement with young people from the North Cambridge community

– 3 months creating positive relationships with STEM for our youngest, STEMtots families.

As we move through the year, we will share more information about our first themed programme – ‘Building a Better World’. This exciting new theme will explore how we shape our built environment for a more sustainable and inclusive future.

Interested in getting involved? Contact Andrew Farrer Director of Programmes and Impact.

Download our Annual Review

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.

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

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

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.

Jimmy Doherty

Jimmy Doherty is a leading figure in agriculture, conservation and sustainable food production, best known as CEO of Jimmy’s Farm and Wildlife Park in Suffolk. His career spans farming, research and media, with a strong focus on ethical farming, biodiversity and public engagement with the natural world. He serves as Visiting Professor at Anglia Ruskin University and is Vice President of the Rare Breeds Survival Trust, championing rare breed conservation and environmental stewardship. He also acts as an Ambassador for organisations including the Royal Countryside Fund, the Papworth Trust and The King’s Foundation, and is Patron of the British Beekeepers Association, the British Hen Welfare Trust and Nature’s Safe.  Jimmy joins the Board bringing deep expertise in public engagement, conservation and science communication, supporting Cambridge Science Centre’s mission to connect people with the natural world and the role of science in everyday life.

Ayeisha Kone-Massouma

Ayeisha Kone-Massouma is an apprentice Project Manager at Bidwells, working within the construction sector while studying Quantity Surveying at London South Bank University. She is passionate about the built environment and the role that education and opportunity play in shaping future careers. Ayeisha is committed to widening access to STEM pathways for young people, particularly those from underrepresented backgrounds. Alongside her professional work, she is passionate about community engagement and inspiring the next generation to explore careers in science, technology and the built environment. Ayeisha joins the Board of Trustees at Cambridge Science Centre to support its mission of making STEM accessible and engaging for all.

Tamara Sword

Tamara Sword is the Founder of ThoughtLDR – an agency that helps tech companies change the world faster through strategic communications. Before founding the agency in 2019, Tamara led marketing and communications at leading tech companies including AI company Audio Analytic (acq. Meta 2022), electric motor manufacturer YASA (acq. Mercedes-Benz 2021), augmented reality start-up Aurasma (acq. HP 2011), a $100m joint venture between University of Cambridge & MIT and was VP of EMEA Marketing at HP. Tamara started her career at Saatchi&Saatchi advertising, is the Co-founder of top 10 video app infltr, a judge for the CES Innovation Awards and a VC advisor.

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.

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

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.

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.