Brighton Science Festival
This festival could change your life…
That’s what director Richard Robinson suggests in his informative blurb on the website’s ‘About’ page. One aim of the festival is to encourage more children to take up science at A-Level stage and beyond, which could well lead to better job prospects. He argues that there is no spirit of discovery and experimentation in science in the school curriculum, so the interactive parts of the festival are attempts to “build bridges between science and the people”.
The family programme kicks off with Bright Sparks (Hove Park Upper School, Sat 15–Sun 16 Feb) featuring 60 shows and activities including giant stick insects, gene decoding, 3D printing, stands from local schools and much more. In half-term there are workshops dotted around central Brighton, such as Lego Mindstorms (The Curiosity Hub, Mon 17 Feb). Certain to go down a storm with children and adults alike, no one can say no to Lego.
The second weekend features B.Radical (Brighton Youth Centre, Sat 22–Sun 23 Feb), aimed at teens, or indeed anyone who might enjoy hydrogen car racing, zombies, arduino guitars and toy hacking. There’s plenty of other events for adults too, such as the popular Festival Of The Spoken Nerd. This science-meets-comedy night is filled with “charm and perky curiosity” according to The Guardian, and is hosted by Helen Arney, Matt Parker and BBC1’s Steve Mould.
Two of the biggest names are saved for the final Big Science Weekend. Simon Singh comes to town for a talk about hidden maths in The Simpsons, having just written a whole book devoted to the subject (Sat 1 March). A perfect night out for geeks of all kinds then, be they fans of maths, TV, books, comedy, or all of the above. Caroline Lucas is joined by Richard Wilkinson in All The Fun Of The Funfair, discussing fairness in everything from bacteria to banking (Sun 2 March). We can assume that Lucas will not be extolling the virtues and fairness of bankers, but who knows?
There’s far more on offer than we can fit in here, so head to www.brightonscience.com to peruse all of the events. Your children might thank you for it later in life, your own scientific curiosity might be piqued, or you might even just have fun.
Brighton Science Festival, Saturday 15 February–Monday 3 March
Follow me: latestjoef
