STEM Clubs for Kids in London
Some children are made for STEM. They take the remote apart, ask questions you can't answer, and would build all weekend if you let them.
But as parents, we also have one eye on the future. We want our children to explore and enjoy science for its own sake, and to pick up the problem-solving and tech know-how that may serve them whatever career they end up choosing.
The research says you're right to start early, too. UCL followed the same children from age 10 to 22 and found that most liked science, but only around 16% could see themselves doing it, and that barely changed by sixth form. (1)
The children who did stick with it had something in common, and it wasn't school. Researchers call it science capital: all the science that happens outside the classroom, in clubs, museums and kitchen experiments.
The more of it a child has, the more likely they are to carry on with science after 16. (2)
See the latest STEM clubs and activities below to find one near you.
AI Tech Camp-Unlocking Future Skills
Ready to power up your child's half-term? Bring your child to stay focused, spark their creativity, feed their curiosity, and build strong teamwork skills at our fun holiday camp! No experience needed—just imagination. 🚀 🤖 AI & Robotics: Train, code, and bring tech projects to life! 🎨 Creative Coding & Animation: Build video games and digital masterpieces. 🧠 Team Challenges: Fun, collaborative projects that build confidence. 🏫 Safe Indoor Fun: A warm, secure, weather-proof classroom to create all day long. 🚀 Ready to Spark Your Child's Future? Spaces in our cosy, indoor October AI Camp are strictly limited to keep classes small and hands-on.
Mon 26 Oct - Fri 30 Oct
09:00 - 15:00
Stem • 7-14 years • From £58.00
E20, Harris Academy Chobham
New Scientist Live
Join us at Excel London, for mind-blowing talks and immersive show floor experiences. New Scientist Live showcases the latest breakthroughs and innovations in science, brought to you by the brightest minds shaping our world. Where science comes to life! The New Scientist Live show floor is packed with interactive and immersive exhibits, buzzing with innovation and sparking imagination. We work closely with our exhibitors and show partners to deliver an exciting programme of hands-on experiences. The show floor is a vibrant mix of ideas and people, designed to inspire all our visitors. Take a look at what's on and plan your visit! Discover Tomorrow Take a look at the exhibitors showcasing the cutting edge of scientific research and technology that will transform our world and ourselves • Chatting with robots • Docking a spacecraft • Exploring immersive VR worlds • Going inside an RAF Chinook • Experiencing Quantum Technology • Learning about the future of food • Understanding the future of energy • Discovering the future of engineering at sea • Seeing next generation materials Discover Nature Explore the diversity of our natural world and meet the scientists working to understand and protect it • Exploring a virtual coral reef. • Cracking the code of plant growth. • Stepping into a vet's shoes. • Discovering nature's hidden heroes. • Getting hands-on with animal free science Discover Health Discover breakthrough science and technologies shaping the future of health and patient care • Stepping inside the hospital of the future • Exploring the body in immersive 3D VR • Discovering next-gen vaccines • Taking on a superbug and drug-resistant infections • Helping the fight against fungal diseases • 3D printing a human body and it's organs The Hospital of the Future • How will your visit to the doctor change in the next 50 years? • Join biomedical engineering experts to explore the breakthroughs powering the next generation of healthcare. Discover innovations in: • Disease prevention as light and sound-based technologies can help doctors see inside the body • Medical diagnosis as Artificial intelligence (AI) could support faster, more accurate healthcare • Digital health technologies are transforming the patient experience Kings College London STEM Adventures Discover science, technology, engineering and maths in ways you’ve never imagined before: • Experience one of the most realistic 3D roller-coaster rides • Meet our robot family, including Bertie, who can give you a hug and pose for a selfie • Help build a giant mathematical sculpture • Learn CPR skills that could help save lives • Create your own chemical models • Step into a vision of the world 10 years from now Middlesex University Ready for takeoff? Join the RAF Youth STEM team for hands-on fun including: • The Chinook Experience - Step aboard this helicopter and discover the technology, engineering and people behind one of the RAF's most versatile aircraft. • Theory of Flight - Learn the principles of flight and design, build and test your own paper plane. • Beat the Engineer - Take on an RAF engineer in a race against the clock to build a Red Arrows model aircraft. • STEM Careers - Meet RAF personnel and explore how STEM skills are used across a wide range of exciting careers. Royal Air Force Agri-tech in action Think farming is old technology? Think again! Learn why agriculture is one of the most innovative and technology-driven industries in the world by: • Driving a tractor simulator • Performing a cattle examination • Exploring how drones are used on farms • Learning how wearable technology supports animal welfare • Discovering AI-powered tools helping to develop future crop varieties Farmers Weekly The New Scientist Live SCIENCE HUNT Discover the science behind the exhibits! Pick up a Science Hunt quiz sheet at the show and follow the trail around the show floor, each stop reveals a fascinating science fact. Visit different stands, chat with exhibitors and uncover the answers as you go. Find the answers some fascinating science questions to be in with a chance to win some goodies. Keep an eye out for a link to download the 2026 Science hunt here soon! Let the challenge begin!
Sat 10 Oct - Sun 11 Oct
09:00 - 16:00
Science • 5 years+ • From £20.00
E16, Excel London
Camp Innovate: Robotics with LEGO kits
Children aged 8-13 will dive into hands-on science, technology, engineering, arts, maths (STEAM) and playful challenges – building, coding, and experimenting with their own creations. Problem-solving, teamwork, and imagination are all part of the fun. Highlights include: • Hands-on STEAM challenges in coding and robotics • Creative building and programming projects • Team games and playful experiments • A supportive environment to explore, invent, and have fun While young innovators tinker and test, parents can relax at artsdepot cafe with coffee, free WiFi, and a cosy spot to recharge during the half term. Facilitated by Code Kids Code Kids are a team of fun loving techies who love working with children and inspiring them through awesome, hands-on projects. They convert end users of tech into creators and designers, ready to be the creative problem-solvers of the future! Spaces are limited – don’t miss out on a day of STEAM, creativity, and invention. Camp cost includes a lunchbox from artsdepot Café containing a sandwich (ham, jam or cheese) with crisps, yogurt, cheese stick, juice, fruit (banana or apple), raisins or sweets. LEGO® is a trademark of the LEGO Group of companies which does not sponsor, authorise, or endorse this camp.
Mon 26 Oct - Mon 26 Oct
10:00 - 15:30
Holiday Camp • 8-13 years • £45.00
N12, Arts Depot
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What actually happens in a STEM club
STEM sounds like a school subject. In practice it's a lot noisier than that!
For under-fives, it's all simple experiments with everyday items. Think baking soda volcanoes, food colouring creeping up a stick of celery, and toy cars racing down ramps. Nobody memorises anything. At this age, science is just something fun you do with your hands.
Primary-age children start building and testing. They might make rockets, catapults, or a model lung out of a bottle and two balloons. Lots of clubs run one project across several weeks, so your child has something to finish and show off.
For teens, it can be the technology end: coding their own games, robotics kits, electronics and 3D design. This is the age where STEM stops being an activity and starts being a hobby they disappear into.
Coding, science or robotics?
They all get sold under the same STEM banner, but they suit quite different children.
Science clubs are messy and hands-on, with a new topic most weeks. Perfect for the child who loves finding things out and likes a bit of everything.
Coding clubs build week on week, and the progress is easy to see, because your child ends up with real games they made themselves. Just bear in mind they're screen-based, and projects will need to be completed on a device.
Robotics is a bit of both: proper hands-on building, with some coding to make the thing move. It usually costs a little more because of all the kit.
Not sure where to start? Go for a science club. It samples a bit of everything, and within a term you'll know whether your child is drawn to the building, the experiments or the code.
What to check before you book a STEM activity
Is the kit included, or will you be buying it? This is where coding and robotics can get pricey.
Do the sessions build on each other, or stand alone? A term-long project isn't the one to drop into for a single week, but it's brilliant if you want your child to stick with something and create something they are proud of at the end of it.
How many children per adult? Experiments and code go wrong all the time (that's half the fun), but a child who waits twenty minutes for help may decide they're rubbish at it. Worth asking before you book.
And will they bring something home? It sounds like a small thing, but it's usually what decides whether you hear all about it at dinner!
Girls and STEM
The gap between boys and girls in STEM opens far earlier than most of us would guess. In UCL's research, just 11% of girls aged 10 said they'd like a career in engineering, compared to 44% of boys. (3)
At ten years old. Not at GCSE options.
So it isn't about steering anyone towards engineering. It's about getting there before your daughter decides this isn't for her. Some London clubs run girls-only sessions, and they can be worth a look if she's the only girl in her class with her hand up in science.
How to do STEM at home
There are a few ways to encourage STEM activities in the home.
Building blocks are brilliant for spatial thinking. Sink or float in the bath. Toy cars down ramps made of different materials. Water, ice and the kettle for the three states of matter (from a safe distance!).
With older children, they shift from doing experiments to asking questions about them. Why did that happen? What would happen if we changed one thing?
And your enthusiasm does more than any kit ever will. Children can tell quickly whether the grown-up is interested and a passion for science can inspire them as well.
FAQs about STEM clubs
What is a STEM club?
A club where children learn science, technology, engineering and maths by making things, not by being taught about them. Expect experiments, building, coding and taking things apart. No writing up, and no test at the end!
What age can children start STEM activities?
Children can start STEM activities from around two years old. It just looks completely different at each stage. Toddler sessions are sensory and gloriously messy, primary clubs build and test things, and teen clubs go deeper into coding and robotics.
Do you have to be good at maths?
Not at all, and this worry puts off more children than almost anything else. Most clubs run on curiosity and trial and error. Plenty of children who find maths lessons a struggle absolutely love robotics, because building something that works is a very different skill from getting the sum right on paper.
What's the difference between STEM and STEAM?
STEAM adds art to the mix. In practice, the difference is design: STEAM sessions care about how the thing looks as well as whether it works, which is lovely for children who are creative as well as science oriented.
Are STEM clubs worth it?
UCL's research found that children who get plenty of science outside school are far more likely to still be doing it after 16, and clubs are a big part of that. (2) But a club your child dreads is not worth doing, so the right fit matters more than anything else.
