Scientists of the future had a chance to showcase their skills and impress the judges at a borough fair.
Pupils from 11 primary schools packed out Queen Mary’s College science centre for the second annual Basingstoke Primary Science Challenge.
Wacky contraptions and bubbling concoctions were on display vying for the attention of the panel of judges.
Taking the top prize was a team from Tadley Primary School.
Sherborne St John Primary School scooped best presentation, Burghclere Primary School won best guide, and St John’s Primary School took home the best science experiment accolade.
The Basingstoke Consortium-run event marked the end of a term-long project to get youngsters inspired by science.
Sue Riley, director of the consortium, said the point of the day was to get children studying physics, chemistry and biology.
She said: “It is about getting young people to think about the subject. What we are doing is getting scientists in our community out there and talking to young people and thinking about its real world applications. School sessions can be quite dull so it is about showing there is science in everyday objects.”
The partnership coordinated volunteers from Basingstoke businesses and universities to give talks in schools showcasing the discipline in action.
Teams from AWE, Southampton University and Air Products gave demonstrations of freezing fruit with liquid nitrogen and creating hovercrafts out of fizzy drinks bottles.
The pupils then had to design their own experiments, writing up how it was done and showing how much it cost to do.
“What the students did was think the experiment through, design it and cost it,” said Ms Riley. “And what they came up with were some really innovative ideas. The level of experiments was brilliant and they all have been very different which is good to see.
“The great thing about this is you don’t have to be academic to get involved. It uses lots of different disciplines and team work.”
