Bigger and better Lancashire Science Festival returns

29 May 2017

Annual science showcase is taking place between 29 June and 1 July

The University of Central Lancashire’s (UCLan) renowned

Lancashire Science Festival is back and it is bigger and better than ever before.

The free annual event is offering a huge variety of electrifying shows, fantastic workshops, exciting exhibits and fun hands-on activities over the course of three days to inspire young people about the real-world applications of science.

Among this year’s star attractions are an amazing mind controlled Dr Octavius tentacle and a ‘seeing with your ears’ daredevil mask, both created by UCLan’s Dr Matthew Dickinson. Other highlights include Matthew Tosh’s shows on the Science of Fireworks and the Science of Stage FX; What’s The Matter, a slapstick comedy theatre performance about quantum physics; and Heavy Metal Marine Biology, presented by television personality The Blowfish.

Festival favourites are also returning with new and engaging shows for 2017, including BBC Science presenter Greg Foot telling his story of his scientific adventure to the world’s highest pop-up laboratory at Everest Base Camp; and Jon Wood’s Under Pressure, focussing on the spectacular results of squashing, squeezing, stretching and spreading.

The award-winning festival, which is now in its sixth year, will run across UCLan’s Preston City Centre Campus from Thursday 29 June to Saturday 1 July, with two days dedicated to school visits and an open public event on the Saturday.

"We are very proud to welcome so many people, both young and old, to a fun and engaging event which we hope inspires the next generation to love science as much as we do."

Building on the success of last year’s event, the Lancashire Science Festival is also travelling to East Lancashire with the headline free fringe festival at UCLan Burnley between Thursday 15 June and Saturday 17 June.

Dr Jo Heaton-Marriott, Lancashire Science Festival Director, said: “The popularity of the award-winning Lancashire Science Festival is growing year-on-year and that shows the mass appeal of free, educational events in the North West. Last year our festival attracted more than 17,000 visitors over three days, while 6,000 places for this year’s schools’ days were snapped up in less than 15 minutes.

“We are very proud to welcome so many people, both young and old, to a fun and engaging event which we hope inspires the next generation to love science as much as we do.”

In addition to the main festival activities, the Festival Lates and Festival Fringe events bring a flavour of science to venues across the county. Among the adult only events are a CSI murder mystery night on 23 June and the return of the infamous science of cocktails entitled Why Should Kids Have All The Fun? on 24 June.

Registration for your free Lancashire Science Festival family pass opens at 8.00am on Wednesday, 31 May. This year all the workshops are available to pre-book but tickets will cost £1 per participant, with the money going to Mental Health Foundation. Early booking is recommended as availability is limited, booking opens at 8.00am on Wednesday, 31 May. To book your places visit the Lancashire Science Festival Website.