National award for Josh’s out of this world bakes with National Space Centre

The University of Leicester’s Dr Josh Smalley and the National Space Centre have won first place at the Sir Arthur Clarke Awards in the Space Achievement – Media, broadcast and written, Team category.

Hosted by the British Interplanetary Society, the Arthurs awards honour individuals and teams that have made notable or outstanding achievements in, or contributions to space activities in the UK. 

The Great British Bake Off finalist, Dr Josh Smalley and the National Space Centre were nominated for their work on their Instagram series Mission Bake. The series aims to provide delicious, easy to understand examples of scientific concepts and tell fascinating space stories, inspired by the National Space Centre’s artefacts. Josh has baked his way through dainty planet macarons, rocky road meteorites, a glowing Europa trifle and lightsaber breads. Mission Bake has also been turned into a live science show featuring at the UK in Space Festival, the Edinburgh Science Festival and the Leicester Food Festival.

Lucy Hallam, Photographer and Videographer at the National Space Centre said, “It has been an interesting challenge learning how to explain scientific concepts through the medium of baking and then work out how to turn those ideas into interesting stories that fit within a 90 second limit! I am very proud of the series and from the first episode we have been delighted with the public response, especially when people tell us that they are making the bakes with their families or youth groups.”

“It's an honour to have won this award recognising the hard work our team have put into creating Mission Bake and it has been great to work with someone as positive and enthusiastic as Josh!”

It has been a team effort from across the National Space Centre and the University of Leicester, from research and fact-checking, scripting, artwork and presenting. Videos have been filmed at the National Space Centre and the University of Leicester’s Science Kitchen.

Dr Josh Smalley said: “Mission Bake has been such a joy to bring to life. I have loved exploring creative ways to weave the space and science into each recipe while showcasing a wide variety of bakes throughout the series. From filming in the Science Kitchen and around the Space Centre, to taking our stage show up to Edinburgh, it’s been an amazing mix of interactive videos, recipe resources and live action shows. The best part, though, has to be seeing how the episodes are received and hearing from people who’ve recreated the bakes themselves.”

“Working with Lucy and the brilliant team at the Space Centre has been incredible. Time and again I’ve been in awe of how she brings the story to life and adds such exciting touches to the videos. The episodes have been a big mission to pull together, so having that work recognised with this award feels both humbling and deeply rewarding. Mission Bake has been an absolute blast, and I cannot wait to see where this journey takes us next!”

The National Space Centre are now looking forward to the Leicestershire Promotions Tourism & Hospitality Awards in December, where they have been put forward for three awards, including in the Large Visitor Attraction category which would nominate them for the VisitEngland awards next year.