For over 250 years, the RSA (Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce) has been committed to finding practical solutions to today's social challenges. The Society's way of working consists of providing a platform for critical debate and new ideas; working with partners to translate knowledge and progressive thinking into practical change; and inspiring their network of 27,000 Fellows to be a force for civic innovation and social change. They also offer money, expert advice and crowdfunding to Fellow-led ideas that aim to have a positive social impact. One such project is 3-2-1-Ignition*, the brainchild of Nottingham-based Fellow and social entrepreneur, Rick Hall FRSA. The idea was to provide an alternative space where the public could drop in and learn about a wide range of topics across the STEM disciplines, from X-rays to earthquakes, tie-dye to food science. Rick and his volunteers hoped that, by using an interactive workshop model, they would inspire curiosity in people and show that science is a creative subject. This article briefly describes how the project first got up and running and how an organisation called Ignite! made it all possible.