The Festival continues to bring more voices into the scientific conversation: Nobel Prize winners, Fellows of the Royal Society and advisors to Government were joined by a selection of school children and young researchers to explain innovative areas of science and technology.
This year saw more events and many more visits from the public. The number of visits this year exceeded previous year’s by over 10,000 with the total reaching well over the 45,000 mark. The final weekend saw over 7,000 visits to events at the West Cambridge site on Saturday and 5,000 at the Cambridge Biomedical Campus on Sunday.
The Festival began with the regional final of FameLab, a competition where 10 competitors explained their science in a tough three-minute showpiece, and culminated with Schools Zone and an open day at the University Technical College (UTC).
Schools Zone is an expo of young scientists’ after-school projects and this year explored what snails eat and how surface roughness and turbulence can enhance aerodynamic design of aerofoils. A staggering 1,800 people attended the event over four hours. The pupils and students were joined by two visiting school groups from Spain and Japan, offering an exotic insight into science teaching around the world.
Sue Long, who runs it said: “Schools Zone is a great platform for budding scientists to explain their research projects to an audience of their peers where senior scientists are allowed to ask questions too!”
Events at UTC included a packed lecture theatre from the Naked Scientists and dozens of curriculum-related hands-on demonstrations run by teachers and students at the College.
Alistair Easterfield of UTC Cambridge said: “Sunday almost felt like a microcosm of the whole Science Festival. Cambridge is a major worldwide centre for research and development in biomedical and life sciences, and the rapidly emerging cleantech industries. UTC Cambridge is lucky to be an integral part of this and be this and be supported by world-class partners. The College is well-placed to provide a dynamic and inspirational curriculum closely aligned to the needs of the local and national high-tech labour market.”
Other highlights during the Festival included the delivery of the Mars rover, Bruno, which caused a great deal of curiosity as it trundled along in front of the Guildhall. The eclipse also caused quite a stir. Despite cloud coverage, at least 500 people came along - alongside ITV Anglia, Cambridge News, BBC Radio Cambridgeshire and Heart Radio - to the Institute of Astronomy last Friday morning to meet astronomers, see demonstrations and watch live feeds from the path to totality. Additionally, in collaboration with the Festival media partners, BBC Radio Cambridgeshire, and the Naked Scientist, the Festival hosted a live national radio show from the Pitt Building, which was extremely well received.
The Festival also put on an adults-only event for the first time at the Corn Exchange, giving adults the opportunity to get hands-on for themselves. The event had many more people attend than was expected, which, Dr Lucinda Spokes, Science Festival Co-ordinator described as: “Wonderful… a true testament to the public’s thirst for science! Exhibit co-ordinators had some of their most senior scientists involved in the adults-only event, which meant those attending had the opportunity to have in-depth conversations about the science involved.
“It was also a joy to see two of the ‘grown-up’ attendees dissecting owl pellets for almost two hours!”
An attendee described the event as: “Excellent! The opportunity to ask questions of experts in a relaxed atmosphere with no pressure to let the kids learn was fantastic.”
Further Festival high points included the ever-popular Dr Peter Wothers’ event at the Chemistry Department, which saw the audience jumping in their seats from loud bangs and flashes of light. Over at the Botanic Garden, the plant to power ‘bus shelter’ received a lot of interest from the public and media alike as it unveiled a new form of energy derived from both solar panels and plant roots.
Sunday, the final day of the Festival, saw thousands of people visit the Cambridge Biomedical Campus to attend a range of talks, demonstrations and exhibitions showcasing the medical research taking place in Cambridge. One of the most popular events was the surgery simulation. A volunteer on the day commented: “It was truly wonderful to see children dressed in surgical scrubs wandering around the Campus.”
Speaking about the Festival as a whole, Dr Dane Comerford, Public Engagement Manager at the University of Cambridge said: “Alongside all the excellent science that people come along and get involved in, one of the best things about the Festival is that it literally opens wide the doors of the University of Cambridge to the public.
“We’re very committed to broadening our connection with the local community. Each year, we work closely with a number of location partners around Cambridge, including the Corn Exchange, the Guildhall and the Cambridge Junction, which really helps us bring science to as many people as possible, including those who might not consider coming to the Festival.
“All of this just wouldn’t happen without both the scientists and the volunteers, who generously give up hours, days and weeks of their time. In a similar vein, the Science Festival would not be able to remain free to the public without the continued generosity of all the Festival sponsors and partners.”
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