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British Science Association

Founded	1831; 194 years ago (1831)
Type	Professional organisation and registered charity
Registration no.	212479
Location	Wellcome Wolfson Building, 165 Queen's Gate, London SW7 5HD
Area served	UK, Worldwide
Key people	Chair: Gisela Abbam President: Professor Alice Roberts CEO: Katherine Mathieson
Revenue	£2,754,408 (year ending Dec 2018)
Employees	30
Volunteers	650

The British Science Association (BSA) is a charity that helps promote and develop science. It was started in 1831. Before 2009, it was called the British Association for the Advancement of Science (BA).

The BSA's main goal is to get more people excited about science. They do this by organizing and running various projects and events. The BSA wants a society where many different people can learn about science and use what they learn. A team of staff at their London office manages the BSA.

The BSA offers many activities and events that celebrate science and encourage people to get involved. These include the British Science Festival, British Science Week, the CREST Awards, the Huxley Summit, and the Media Fellowships Scheme. They also hold local events all over the UK.

History of the BSA
Science in the UK
CREST Awards
Leaders of the British Science Association
Annual Meetings
Where the BSA is Located
See also

History of the BSA

How it Started

The former British Science Association logo launched in 2009

Old logo used for "The BA"

The British Science Association was founded in 1831. It was inspired by a similar group in Germany. The main person who helped start it was Reverend William Vernon Harcourt. He got the idea from Sir David Brewster, who felt that the Royal Society was too old-fashioned and exclusive.

Other important founding members included Charles Babbage, William Whewell, and J. F. W. Johnston. The very first meeting took place in York on September 27, 1831. Over 300 people attended, including scientists, doctors, and important figures from across the country.

From then on, a meeting was held every year in a different city. For example, in 1832, the meeting was in Oxford. By then, the Association had four main sections: Physics, Chemistry, Geology, and Natural History.

During this second meeting, the BSA published its first goals and rules. Their goals included gathering scientific knowledge, sharing it widely, and helping scientists from different countries talk to each other. They also wanted to remove anything that stopped science from moving forward. The rules explained how to become a member and how future meetings would work. Members were also divided into different committees based on their interests. These groups would suggest new research and share their findings at the yearly meetings.

Over the years, new sections were added. Sometimes, a part of an existing section would become its own, like when Geography and Ethnology separated from Geology in 1851. Other times, completely new subjects were added, such as Anthropology in 1869.

A big decision for the Association happened in 1842 when they decided to create a "physical observatory." They took over a building known as the Kew Observatory, and Francis Ronalds became its first director. Kew Observatory quickly became famous worldwide for studying weather and Earth's magnetic field. In 1871, the Association gave control of the observatory to the Royal Society, after a large donation helped the observatory become independent.

In 1872, the Association bought its first main office in London. This office was meant to be a helpful place for all members.

One of the most famous events linked to the Association was a discussion between Thomas Henry Huxley and Bishop Samuel Wilberforce in 1860. This happened after a presentation about Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. Many people were involved in the discussion, but Huxley and Wilberforce were the most well-known. While newspapers at the time only mentioned it briefly, it later became a very important moment in the debate about evolution.

Setting Electrical Standards

One of the most important things the British Association did was create standards for how electricity is measured. They helped establish the ohm for electrical resistance, the volt for electrical potential, and the ampere for electrical current. These standards were needed because of the growing submarine telegraph industry.

William Thomson suggested this project to the BSA. Scientists like Josiah Latimer Clark and Fleeming Jenkin helped prepare the work. This effort made sure that electrical measurements were the same everywhere, which was very important for new technologies.

Other Contributions

In 1882, the Association introduced the British Association screw threads, often called "BA" screw threads. These were a series of standard sizes for screws, from very tiny (0.25 mm) up to 6 mm. They were based on the metric system.

In 1878, a committee from the Association decided against building Charles Babbage's analytical engine. They were worried about how much it would cost, if it would last, and what it would actually be used for. They felt more work was needed on the design to make sure it would work.

The famous English writer Charles Dickens even made fun of the Association in his stories The Mudfog Papers (1837–38). He called it 'The Mudfog Society for the Advancement of Everything'.

Science in the UK

The Association's main goal today is to improve how people in the UK see science and scientists. Anyone can become a member.

Around the time of the Great Depression, the Association started to think not only about scientific progress but also about how science affects society. In 1931, the president, General Jan Christiaan Smuts, suggested that science and ethics should be linked. In the years that followed, people debated who was responsible for making sure science was used for good. In 1934, the Association decided to work on balancing scientific advances with social progress.

J.D. Bernal, a member of both the Royal Society and the British Association, wrote a book in 1939 called The Social Function of Science. He talked about the need to use science correctly for society and how important it was for the public to understand science. This idea grew even more in 1985 when the Royal Society published a report called The Public Understanding of Science.

Sir George Porter

This report said that scientists have a duty to talk to and teach the public. Lord George Porter, who was president of the Royal Society and the British Association, then created a group called the Committee on the Public Understanding of Science, or COPUS. This group worked to help the public understand science better.

Professor Sir George Porter became president in 1985. He won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1967. He believed that Britain needed to improve its science education, especially for young children. He thought that starting science education at age four would help children stay curious about all areas of science. He explained that it's important for everyone, including leaders in politics and media, to understand science. He said that without scientific knowledge, it's hard to make good decisions about things like health, energy, or education. He believed that strong science and art go together in a thriving society.

In 1987, Sir Kenneth Durham, a former director at Unilever, became president. He agreed with Sir George Porter. He said that science teachers needed better pay to attract more math and physics teachers to schools. He warned that without this, the future of manufacturing in the UK would be in trouble. He also felt that newspapers often focused too much on medical science and should cover other important areas like physics and molecular biology more often.

In 2001, Sir William Stewart, the outgoing president, warned that universities were facing "dumbing down". He said that universities needed more money to provide both social inclusion and excellent education. He also advised scientists to think carefully about the full effects of their work.

In 2000, a group led by Sir Peter Williams looked into the shortage of physics students. They found that many companies were looking for physics graduates. Their report said it was very important to have more physics teachers, or it would hurt the number of future engineers and scientists.

British Science Festival

In recent years, the Association has focused a lot on getting the public involved in science. Their yearly meeting, now called the British Science Festival, is the biggest public science event in the UK. It gets a lot of attention from the media. It's held at different UK universities in early September and includes visits to local science places.

At the 2010 Festival, a funny prank happened. A fake plant called Dulcis foetidus was shown, and people were told it smelled bad. Some audience members actually thought they could smell it, showing how easily people can be influenced! The Festival has also been a place for important discussions. In 1970, there were protests about using science to create weapons.

Science Communication Conference

For over ten years, the Association organized the Science Communication Conference. This was the biggest conference of its kind in the UK, where people discussed important issues about talking about science. Since 2015, the BSA has held smaller events for science communicators, focusing on similar topics for specific groups.

British Science Week

Logo of British Science Week

Besides the British Science Festival, the British Science Association also organizes British Science Week. This is a chance for people of all ages to get involved in science, engineering, technology, and math activities. It used to be called National Science & Engineering Week.

The Association also has a program for young people called the CREST Awards. This program encourages school students to explore science beyond their regular lessons and think about studying science in college or having a science career.

Huxley Summit

The Huxley Summit is a special leadership event named after Thomas Huxley. The British Science Association brings together 250 influential people in the UK to talk about scientific and social challenges facing the country. The goal is to connect scientists with non-scientists so that everyone can understand science better. The first Huxley Summit was held on November 8, 2016, in London. Its theme was "Trust in the 21st Century" and how trust affects science, new ideas, and business.

Media Fellowship Schemes

The British Science Association's Media Fellowship gives scientists, doctors, and engineers a chance to work at media places like The Guardian or BBC Breakfast. After their time with the media, these fellows attend the British Science Festival. This experience helps them learn how to work with media organizations and understand how to share science with the public. They also get to meet other scientists, journalists, and people who communicate science.

CREST Awards

The CREST Awards are a program from the British Science Association that encourages students aged 5–19 to get involved in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) projects. It helps them think like scientists. Awards range from Star Awards for younger kids (5–7) to Gold Awards for older teens (16–19). Each year, about 30,000 awards are given out. Many students who earn Silver and Gold CREST Awards (which require 30 and 70 hours of work) also enter competitions like the UK Big Bang Fair.

Leaders of the British Science Association

Traditionally, a president is chosen each year, usually in August or September. They serve for one year and give a speech when their term ends. Someone is usually only president once. For example, in 1926/1927, King George V was the Association's patron, and his son Edward, Prince of Wales was the president.

Annual Meetings

The British Science Association has held meetings almost every year since it started. These meetings take place in different cities across the UK and sometimes even in other countries.

1831 (1st meeting) York, England.
1832 (2nd meeting) Oxford, England.
2013 (174th meeting) Newcastle upon Tyne, England.
2014 (175th meeting) Birmingham, England.
2015 (176th meeting) Bradford, England
2016 (177th meeting) Swansea, Wales
2017 (178th meeting) Brighton, England
2018 (179th meeting) Hull, England
2019 (180th meeting) Coventry, England

Where the BSA is Located

The British Science Association's main office is in the Wellcome Wolfson Building at the Science Museum, London. This building is in South Kensington, London.