A science show for your school assembly: how to choose and plan it

Why a show works for a whole school

A classroom workshop is the best way to get every student’s hands on the materials. A show does something different: it creates a shared moment. Kindergarten students and grade 7 students laugh at the same surprise, and the whole school talks about it at recess.

Profaqua shows are interactive. Throughout the hour, several students are invited on stage to help with the experiments and take on challenges in front of their classmates. Each show is adapted to the age of the audience, so everyone can understand, take part and be amazed, entirely in French.

Four shows for every season

Magic or Science?

Objects that vanish, rings that link together and even telepathy: students try to figure out the science behind each trick, and learn five tricks to practise at home. Designed for kindergarten to grade 6. See the show.

In the Footsteps of Great Inventors

The great minds who changed the world, on stage: static electricity with a 735 kV Van de Graaff generator, a laser that pops balloons ten metres away, Bernoulli’s air pressure and more. For kindergarten to grade 12. See the show.

Halloween: The Science of Fear

A haunted-house setting with sound and lights, a pirate host, hair standing on end and dry ice potions at −78 °C. Spooky, but all in good fun, for kindergarten to grade 12. See the show.

The Great Inventor Elf

The holiday show: pranks, gadgets and the great discoveries that changed the way we celebrate, with assistants picked from the audience. For kindergarten to grade 12. See the show.

One class or several hundred students

There is no minimum or maximum audience for a show: it works for a single class as well as for several hundred students in a gym. You can also book several shows on the same day, grouped by age, so younger and older students each get a show pitched for them.

Shows also fit special days. Science Week, Halloween, the holiday season, a school fair or the end of the year are all good occasions. On a Pro-D day, a show can open and close a day of workshops.

What the gym needs

• A clear space for the show, indoors or outdoors.
• Access to the light switches for an indoor show.
• Access to electrical outlets.
• A sink nearby.

Plan time for students to come in and sit down before the start, and seat the youngest at the front: they see better and are often the most eager volunteers.

Prepare students in five minutes

• Tell them they may be invited on stage, and that volunteers help with real experiments.
• For In the Footsteps of Great Inventors, name two or three inventors in class beforehand.
• For younger students, practise the signal for silence and the way to raise a hand to volunteer.
• In a Core French or Immersion school, introduce a few key words: expérience, hypothèse, électricité, pression.

Prices and funding

A 60-minute science show costs $1,000, and a magic and science show $800. Several shows on the same day lower the price per show: for example, two science shows cost $1,800 and four cost $3,500. Travel, GST and PST are extra. See all prices.

Parents’ groups can help pay for a show. According to the 2026 guidelines, a PAC Community Gaming Grant can pay for presentations and performances, including science, which makes a show for all students a natural fit. How PAC funding works. Depending on the program and the project, some schools also use Canadian Parents for French or PassepART.

Make the most of the hour

A show is a great hook. In the days that follow, ask students which experiment surprised them most and why. Older students can research the inventor or the phenomenon behind their favourite demonstration; younger ones can draw it and explain it in a sentence.

Want to go further? Follow the show with classroom workshops on the same theme, so every student can try the science for themselves.