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Festivals

Whether your tastes are literary, philosophical, musical or comical, there are festivals to suit them - putting you among others who share your interests and into a context in which you can place your research. The UK’s multitudes of festivals are great routes for inspiring and exciting audiences, primarily families and schoolchildren, using the wonder of research.

Getting involved with festivals

The Trust has previously supported events at several science festivals as well as the Hay philosophy festival, How The Light Gets In, the Hay and Cheltenham literary festivals, and Glastonbury.

The annual British Science Festival and Festival of Social Science give researchers the opportunity to organise public events.

Funded by the Department for Trade and Industry and coordinated by the British Association for Science, National Science and Engineering Week (NSEW) provides an annual focus for public engagement events. Tying your event into NSEW can ensure wider coverage and a greater range of audiences. Get in touch with them to find out more.

There are many festivals throughout the UK looking for researchers to become involved in their activities. This might take the form of a public talk, workshop or hands on exhibition. For more information about how to get involved see Making the Most of Festivals from the National Coordinating Centre for Public Engagement.In addition, if you are going to be presenting a poster at a festival, this guide [PDF] provides an introduction to design concepts to help you think about how to create an eye-catching display.

You are likely to know your festival of choice; however, we're happy to offer advice and to discuss possible approaches, so please do get in touch.

Festivals in your region:

Scotland

North of England

  • Newcastle: Newcastle ScienceFest is a ten-day celebration of science at venues across Newcastle and Gateshead, with the principal aim of increasing the North East’s enthusiasm for science and encouraging young people to consider a career in this area. To get involved, contact Marissa Buckingham: marissa.buckingham@life.org.uk.
  • Manchester: The Manchester Science Festival encourages researchers to become involved. For more information, visit the website or send an email: info@manchestersciencefestival.com.

South of England

Wales

  • Wrexham: Wrexham's event is 'a festival all about science'. To get involved, visit the website.

Wellcome Trust, Gibbs Building, 215 Euston Road, London NW1 2BE, UK T:+44 (0)20 7611 8888