Step by step guide

Contact the Cafe Sci team

The Project Organiser's main role is to help support and sustain cafés in schools. She can help you get your café started and support you (and the student team, if you choose to have one) in developing a full café programme. The Communications Manager is also available to help with resources and information.

Talk to colleagues

The issues students want to talk about are varied so Café Sci will be interesting to teachers of many subjects: science, citizenship, sociology, environmental science, politics and others. A wide range of involved colleagues will ensure a wide range of involved students.

Identify a topic and title

The first café will set the tone for the rest. It's a good idea to choose a topic of general interest, to attract a large and wide-ranging audience - something really current or controversial usually does the trick. You'll be the speaker at this first café -- or you might be able to persuade a colleague to take on this task. 

For later cafés, at a minimum we recommend working with students to develop a programme and they'll need your support to come up with ideas for interesting and topical discussions, with catchy, quirky titles.

Identify a location

Exactly where you hold your café depends on the circumstances of your school but we'd encourage you, if at all possible, not to hold the café in a classroom. The location should be somewhere informal, where students can relax, eat (if the café is held at lunchtime) and join in the discussions. Potential locations could be a library or common room but you may have to devise your own informality by moving the tables and providing refreshments. There's no need for any technical equipment - with only ten minutes or so to introduce the topic, speakers won't need projectors or microphones.

Find a speaker

The longer you give yourself to find a speaker (we suggest planning at least six weeks in advance), the more likely you are to be able to find a speaker on your chosen topic. See Finding your speaker. 

Advertise the café

Exactly what format the advertising takes - assemblies, newsletters, notice boards - will depend on your school. The website has some professionally designed posters and flyers for overprinting, or you could make your own - an opportunity for students with design skills!

Support your cafés

Cafés can feel a bit daunting and the students will need lots of support and encouragement. It will be helpful if you have a few questions ready, just in case discussion takes a while to get started. Also, try to identify a few students you know would be willing to respond to direct questions - it will help the speaker get things moving if things are slow. 

Support student volunteers to form an organising group

If you decide to set up a student organising group, try to gather students from across the age range of your school (to ensure continuity) and across the range of subject interests. There are several jobs to do, so there are opportunities for students with varied skills. The incentives for students include opportunities for personal development and CV enhancement, the chance to gain an insight into current research and live science issues and the opportunity to take part in debate and voice their opinions with working scientists. It might be useful for you to read through the student organisers' pack (which you candownload from Resources), to see how the project is presented to students.

Support the student group in preparing for further cafés

Your continuing role will be to support, encourage and sustain the student team, help them develop a balanced and interesting programme and maintain continuity as older students leave. The Café Sci website will be here as a source of new ideas and materials, as well as a place to share your experiences with other schools.