A three-week fest celebrates science at a local museum, educating the youth about food, matter, and outer space with theatre.

The fest, the Croucher Science Week, was held from April 7 to 25 at the Hong Kong Science Museum, bringing theatre and scientific performances. Since 2018, the event has already reached 320,000 people. David Foster, Director of Croucher Foundation, organised the fest and hoped to integrate science into the daily lives of many, rather than presenting it as a mere academic subject. He believed this fest “sparked curiosity and interdisciplinary thinking” in its interactive programmes such as theatre shows.

The Kids Who Fell to Earth.

One of the shows by Thunderbolts and Lightning, The Kids Who Fell to Earth, is about two aliens returning to their home planet devasted by climatic changes. The audiences need to help the aliens on their mission to bring about a better planet, which in return aims to empower the audience to look after their own. “The storyline evolved from wanting to have dialogues with younger audiences about the fact that our climate is changing and due to human evolution, particularly in the tech industry,” said performer Nicola Shepherd.

With a background in theatre, Nicola went to drama school in Scotland and actively engaged with science. However, she believed this show set itself apart with epic demonstrations and great visuals. “It may inspire both adults and children to try some science experiments at home together afterward,” she said. “Why should children get all the fun of blue aliens and big bangs? Sometimes adults need an excuse for a bit of silliness and escapism.”

Although the team has performed this show several times, “things ramped up a bit” this time, said Nicola. They had been prepping with script updates and translation procedures since October 2024, yet she hoped the theatrical aspect and the story of it did not get lost in the final production.

The Journey of Food.

Instead of pivoting around space matters, another show focused on food and ultra-processed products. The Royal Institution presented the show, The Journey of Food, breaking down four main crops—rice, soy, corn, and wheat.

The interactive show targeted children aged six to eleven. In the story, the audience “became a flattened small intestine, a poo investigator, and a detonator of flammable farts,” said a spokesperson from the Royal Institution, where the audience looked into the surprising facts about the human body.

Adapted from the three-hour Royal Institution Christmas Lectures, the 60-minute performance did not hope to denote what the audience should eat. “We don’t want to tell people what to eat but hopefully the show will help audiences make informed choices about what they consume,” the spokesperson said.

For two centuries, the Royal Institution hosted interactive demonstrations. The theatre medium allowed the performers to demonstrate abstract science in physical form, sharing immersive experiences for all.

The Wow! Show.

Another theatre act, The Wow! Show, decided to enter the fest with a bang. Rather than portraying facts, the performance tried to get the youth up close to presumably dangerous explosives.

This rewritten performance from the 2025 Perth Fringe World Festival included flammable and reactive materials. One of the props, a delicate plasma popper, was a 1.5m by 0.5m tool shipped from Australia. From hydrogen balloons to liquid nitrogen, the Scitech Discovery Centre demonstrated some of the booming yet natural occurrences.

“Research has shown that experiences that engage more than one of your senses are more likely to evoke stronger emotions and create lasting memories,” performer Lauren Allen said. “Our goal is to inspire kids to explore the world around them and make their own discoveries. Explosions serve the purpose of grabbing their attention and exciting them.”

The methodology was to fascinate the youth with science and to develop their curiosity about it. Not only did this encourage the audience to discuss the tools, but also to express their thoughts in an accessible space. Lauren believed the fest celebrated community, gathering like-minded people to discover matter and science.

The Croucher Science Week engaged the youth with creative theatrical shows and exciting interactions. These personalised interactions were only available outside of rigid texts and in a local museum.

Picture credits: Croucher Science Week

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