National Science Week

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National Science Week refers to series of science-related events for the general public which are held in a specific countries during a designated week of the year. The aim of such science weeks is to engage and inspire people of all ages with science, engineering and technology.

Britain's National Science Week was first held in 1994 and is now known as National Science and Engineering Week. It is organised by the British Association for the Advancement of Science in partnership with the ETB (Engineering and Technology Board) and funded by DIUS (Department of Innovation, Universities and Skills). National Science and Engineering Week is a massive UK wide celebration of science which saw over 850,000 people taking part in 3,000 events throughout the UK in 2007, with a large number of people, public centers and organisations taking part in, and organising, a vast array of special events across the country. The 2008 National Science and Engineering Week took place from March 7 to 16.

In India, Science Week culminates in National Science Day, which takes place each year on 28th February to commemorate C. V. Raman's discovery of the Raman Effect. Australia's National Science Week was first held in 1997, and traditionally takes place in August.

In the United States, the National Science & Technology Week was one of the National Science Foundation's main outreach efforts between 1985 and 1999, before the program was succeeded by Find Out Why, a year-long outreach effort focused on families, offering everyday science activities. The idea was revisited in 2005 by the U.S. Department of Education and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, in collaboration with other government and scientific partners, with an "Excellence in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education (ESTEME) Week."

Other national science weeks include the Norwegian Forskningsdagene ("Research Days"), Canadas National Science & Technology Week, the South African National Science Week, and China's National Science Week launched in May 2006. On an international level, the European Union has held union-wide science weeks between 2000 and 2006.

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