Events for all at the Science Festival

The University is playing a key role in the Edinburgh International Science festival, with activities for all ages.

An extensive programme of events for families includes a host of drop-in activities at the National Museum of Scotland, all of which are free.

Drop-in events

Young scientists can learn skills to help solve a crime, discover how planet Earth was formed, or engineer cardboard pop-up models.

Families are also invited to get hands-on with microscopes, discover why the search for the Higgs boson is important, and learn how medical scientists and vets are working to keep people and animals healthy.

The University’s travelling science roadshow team, SCI-FUN, will also be demonstrating engaging experiments.

Shows and workshop

Family events also include free, ticketed performances, The Chemistry Show and the Senses Show.

In addition, the Life Through a Lens microscope workshop enables young scientists to make their own discoveries.

Evening activities

In the festival’s programme of events for young people and adults, researchers from the University’s School of Informatics will contribute to InMotion, a series of activities focusing on human movement and performance.

The University’s Inspace gallery at the School of Informatics will host LateLab - a series of evening events taking place throughout the festival.

Activities will involve talks, performances, films, and the chance to take part in experiments.

Physics in focus

In the talks series, the legacy of Edinburgh physicist James Clerk Maxwell will be brought into focus with a demonstration of the world’s first colour photo, during a discussion of his work led by Professor Ron Pethig.

In addition, the efforts of scientists who study exoplanents - planets outside our own solar system - will form the subject of two documentaries by ECA students.

The screenings will be followed by a Q&A session with astronomers Professor Ken Rice and Duncan Forgan.

Creative thinking

University scientists Professor Polly Arnold and Simon Kirby will both take part in a day-long event that aims to recreate the spirit of the Scottish Enlightenment by bringing together some of Scotland’s most creative minds.

Elsewhere, the University’s Andy Kerr, Director of the Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Innovation, will join a discussion on the future of policy funding for Scottish science.

Professor Joyce Tait, Chair of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics Working Party on Biofuels, will lead a panel discussion on the adoption of biofuels.

Pioneering medicine

Medical advances to tackle ectopic pregnancy will come under the spotlight in a talk by Professor Andrew Horne and Colin Duncan from the University’s MRC Centre for Reproductive Health.

Professor Stuart Ralston will explore the medical and personal aspects of osteoarthritis, with the help of a patient who will relay their experience of the condition.

Alistair Elfick will present a talk on the emerging area of synthetic biology, which brings together science and design to engineer biological parts and devices.

In a separate event, Elfick will speak ahead of a screening of the 1931 film ‘Frankenstein’ at the Filmhouse.

The Edinburgh International Science Festival runs from 30 March to 15 April at venues across the city.

For more details and to book, please see the festival website or call the booking line on 0844 557 2686.