There are two judging panels.

• The first one which is composed by an expert panel will meet in May 2016 to choose which sciencific toys will be the finalists.
• Then it will be the turn of the young judging panel to decide who is the winner. The judging panel will be formed by primary school children in schools across the UK.

Expert Panel

Jessica Rowson is the Girls in Physics Project Manager at the Institute of Physics. These projects investigate the reasons why there is a gender imbalance at Physics A Level, and what active steps can be taken to redress the imbalance. Prior to this role, she was a physics teacher in South Esat London and has a background in structural engineering.

Sandra Perez is a currently completing her PhD at Queen Mary University London. She finished her BSc in Biochemistry at the University of Navarra Spain and moved to London to complete an MRes in Biotechnology at Univesity College London.

In 2014 she started her PhD in Nanoscience where she uses DNA origami nanostructures as cell-type-specific diagnostic and therapeutic tools. She is also the Director of the London Constituency for the Society of Spanish Researchers in the UK (www.sruk.org), where she organizes events in London to promote public outreach and science communication.

Laurie Winkless is a physicist and science writer from London. Following a degree at Trinity College Dublin, a placement at NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre, and a masters in Space Science at UCL, Laurie worked at the National Physical Laboratory, specialising in functional materials. Her research area was thermoelectric energy harvesting, and she remains passionate about all things energy-related.

As a registered STEMNET ambassador Laurie has been communicating science to the public for more than a decade, but has more recently focused her efforts on writing. Her first book, Science and the City, will be published by Bloomsbury Sigma in August. She is involved in the Let Toys Be Toys campaign, which is working to remove gender-based labelling of toys.

 Ling Lee is Exhibitions Content Developer in the Contemporary Science team at the Science Museum London, where she researches and exhibitions and events that help connect cutting edge science and technology to everyday experiences of visitors of all ages.

She joined the Science Museum following a BSc in Medical Microbiology at UCL, seven years in health journalism and copywriting in Southeast Asia, and a MSc in Science Communication at Imperial College London. She is currently working on a landmark temporary exhibition on the history and future of humanoid robots.