A Spark2 Curiosity Assembly

What’s YOUR question?

Today we’re going to ask one big question — why? And we’ll follow it wherever it takes us. By the end of this assembly, I think you’ll be even more curious than when you walked in.

Let’s begin
Use arrows or space

Three little letters.
One enormous question.

WHY?

Electricity. Aeroplanes. Penicillin. Wi-Fi. Trainers. Chocolate biscuits. Every single thing in our world started because someone asked why? Or its sister question, what if?

“I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious.”

— Albert Einstein

A child your age asks roughly how many questions a day?

Hands up. Have a guess. No looking at your friends.

10
A few
100
A lot
300
Loads
🙋 Hands up vote

10? 100? 300? Make your pick. Then we'll find out who's right…

The answer:

300 questions per day · age 4–6

By the time you're a grown-up, that drops to about 12 a day. So this week — let's get back up there. The world needs more why-askers, not fewer.

⚡ Brain fact
When you're curious about something, your brain releases the same chemical it releases when you eat your favourite food. Curiosity literally feels good. That's your brain rewarding you for wanting to know more.

Four questions that changed the world.

Curious people who didn't accept "just because" — and the simple questions they asked.

🍎Isaac Newton
"Why does the apple fall down and not up?"
Discovered gravity — the force holding you in your chair right now.
⚗️Marie Curie
"Why do these rocks glow in the dark?"
Discovered radioactivity — now used in cancer treatment that saves millions of lives.
✈️The Wright Brothers
"If birds can fly, why can't we?"
Built the first aeroplane — every flight in the world traces back to that question.
🧫Alexander Fleming
"Why aren't the germs growing near that mould?"
Discovered penicillin — the medicine that has saved over 200 million lives.

And it's still happening.

Some of the biggest discoveries of the last 100 years all started with a single "what if?"

💡Einstein
"What would it look like to ride on a beam of light?"
Changed how we understand space and time itself.
🌌Stephen Hawking
"What happens at the edge of a black hole?"
Unlocked secrets of the entire universe, from a wheelchair.
🌐Tim Berners-Lee 🇬🇧
"What if every computer could share information instantly?"
Invented the World Wide Web — the thing connecting all of us right now.
🇬🇧 Brit moment

Every single one of these inventions started with someone just like you asking a simple question.

So — what IS curiosity?

It's a feeling. It's a habit. And it's the thing that turns ordinary kids into world-changers.

❓
Asking questions
🔍
Looking closely
🤔
Wondering why
✨
Discovering new things
🙋 Hands up

Hand up if you've ever asked "why?" Then you're already a scientist. That's exactly how science starts.

Curious children
remember more.

Even random facts that have nothing to do with what you were curious about.

📚 Brain fact #2
Scientists at the University of California asked one group of students to study facts they were curious about, and another group to study facts they thought were boring. The curious group remembered way more — and they also remembered random facts shown to them in between. Curiosity puts the whole brain on alert.
🏫 What that means for school
If you make yourself curious about a topic — even one you don't think you'll like — you'll learn it twice as fast. Try it this week. Pick something you usually find boring, and ask one question about it. See what happens.
Watch this

A bubble big enough to stand inside.

Same recipe our presenters use in 1,800+ schools. Now imagine you're holding a giant bubble wand. As you watch — ask three questions.

💧
"What's actually holding the bubble together?"
🌈
"Why do the colours swirl in rainbows?"
💥
"Why does it last 5 seconds — but 30 in a cool room?"
🫧 Optional live demo

If you've made the bubble mix, this is the moment. If not — just describe what happens and let the children imagine. The wonder works either way.

The three answers.

Three little bits of science that explain something you've seen all your life.

💧The film
Soap molecules line up between two layers of water like tiny soldiers, holding the film together. Without soap, water just falls.
🌈The colours
It's called thin-film interference. The same physics that paints rainbows on oil-and-water and the feathers of a magpie.
💥The pop
Bubbles pop when the water inside the film evaporates faster than gravity can drain it. Cool, damp = long life. Hot sun = pop.
🤔 Wonder

If a five-year-old can ask three questions about a bubble — what could you ask this afternoon?

Your mission this week.
Three things.

From every single one of you. By Friday I want a school full of scientists.

Mission 1
Watch closely
Scientists notice tiny details everyone else misses. Be that person. Look properly. Don't just glance — look.
Mission 2
Be surprised
Don't try to be too cool for science. Wonder is precious — it's the whole point. Let yourself say "wow" out loud.
Mission 3
Ask one why
In your classroom. On the playground. On the way home. Just one why a day. See where it takes you.
✊ Call & response

So — who's ready to switch on their curiosity?

🚀 Ready to go

Let's get curious.

The best scientists aren't the ones with all the answers — they're the ones with the best questions. So this week, in your classroom, on the playground, on the school run home: ask one why. Just one. See where it takes you.

🎵 Final beat

Children leave the hall. Play upbeat music if you can. Set the tone for the rest of the day.