Get into science with mind-bending toys, games and models at this British Science Festival satellite event next to the old Toys R Us store

Join us for two days playing with science, from the microscopic world of bacteria and fungi to the amazing diversity of our brains and the wonders of the oceans. Meet scientists, make your own puppet out of junk, and relax with family and friends to good food and good music.

This is a free British Science Festival satellite event, with exhibits and activities for curious minds of all ages.

Oceanography: Get under the surface of our planet's ocean with the National Oceanography Centre. Your chance to play with plankton, take a VR tour aboard two UK research ships, come face-to-face with a model of Boaty McBoatface and learn how coastal ecosystems can lock carbon away in muddy soils for centuries.

Bones and Joints: Get medical with the University of Southampton’s Bone and Joint Group! Take aim and knock out bacteria in our Bacteria Bowling, then put stem cells through their paces with tabletop pinball and see where they end up!

Biofilms: Investigate the world of biofilms - communities of living micro-organisms, such as bacteria or fungi, that evolve and grow together - alongside a team from the National Biofilms Innovation Centre. Peer through a toy microscope on your phone and get interactive with the team's Lego.

Neuroscience: Explore brains with the NeuroKids team and their models and Lego MRI scanners. An opportunity to discover more about neurodiversity and the different ways we experience the world, and to make neurons out of pipecleaners.

Junk Puppet Making: Join the team behind Stories in the Dust, a sustainable theatre company who work alongside the Applied Environmental Science Department at Southampton University, to make your own puppet out of junk! Their touring theatre shows are made of 90% recycled and reclaimed materials and they'll be on hand to help you make your own puppet or toy inspired by their work. Using all sorts of materials found and recycled, you'll be guided through with tips and tricks to help you make any animal you like, real or imagined, to take home with you at the end.

PLUS music and street food!

3.30-7.30pm Friday 18 September and 12-4pm Saturday 19 September.

This is an independently organised event taking place during British Science Festival.

TOYS for Science! will be held on land to the west of the former Toys R Us building on Western Esplanade, opposite Southampton Central Station.

Together with a Music in the City event on 12–13 September, it forms part of the early activation of the site, testing how temporary activities and events can bring people into the space while plans for future meanwhile uses and the longer-term redevelopment of the Toys R Us site are being developed.

Description supplied by the event organiser.