12th – 14th November
This year we have decided to have a change of approach for the Otley Science Festival. For the main Festival instead of packing everything into a single week in November it will now be split between this November and March 2027.
This page is about November’s line up where we have a diversity of events, including “ancient and modern” speakers, a fascinating film voyage below the earth, the usual Science Café and of course the popular family oriented Science Fair on Saturday 14th. The Science fair will also be supported by an exceptional “out of this world” event at Otley Library – watch out for more news on this!
Our schools shows, instead of running in parallel, will now take place in March 2027 to coincide with British Science Week (6th – 15th) when we have some great sessions in plan for KS1 and KS2 students. We will also, of course, have our March Science Café.
Here’s the schedule for this year’s Festival:
- Thursday 12th, 2.30pm matinee – Sir Isaac Remembers with Professor Mike Edmunds
- Thursday 12th, 7.30pm – Festival Science Café
- Friday 13th 2pm movie matinee – Underland
- Friday 13th, 7.30pm – The Antikythra Mechanism with Professor Mike Edmunds
- Saturday 14th 10am – 4pm – the ever popular, family oriented Science Fair
- Saturday 14th, 8pm – Solar Superstorms with Professor Jim Wild
In the meantime you can look back to 2025’s Festival here.
Thursday 12th November, 2.30pm
Sir Isaac Remembers
With Professor Mike Edmunds
It is 1725 and Sir Isaac Newton is sorting his letters during the last year of his life. In this dramatic reconstruction, lasting about an hour, Mike Edmunds plays Sir Isaac as he appeared to the eighteenth-century world, based entirely on authentic letters, contemporary reports and material. Through them, Sir Isaac reflects on his science, his life, his lesser-known studies in alchemy and religion, and the world in general…
Tea / coffee and apple cake will be served at the start of the event
Mike Edmunds is Emeritus Professor of Astrophysics at Cardiff University. Educated at Cambridge, he has lived and worked in Wales for over 50 years, and was President of the Royal Astronomical Society from 2022–2024. His research focused on the abundances of the chemical elements in the universe and the origin of interstellar dust, while his later work has explored the history of astronomy, including the world of Sir Isaac Newton.
Tickets £12 including refreshments: click/tap here
Thursday 12th November, 7.30pm
Science Café
As ever in Science Festival week the Science Café promises to bring its diverse menu of scientific topics delivered in bite sized chunks for your entertainment.
We will have our traditional trio of speakers, each given a quarter of an hour and plenty of time for you to ask questions and quiz them afterwards. Join us for a relaxed and fun evening of science suitable for all ages and all interests.
Full details will be on the Science Cafés page.
Tickets £6 (students in full time education free) : click/tap here
Friday 13th November, 2pm
Movie Matinee: Underland
Based on Robert McFarlane’s bestseller Underland is a cinematic voyage beneath the surface of the Earth.
We know so little about the world beneath our feet. To most it is a place of fear and darkness, but to a few it is one of knowledge and wonder. This documentary follows ‘astronauts of the underworld’ through sacred caves, melting glaciers, underwater burial chambers and a deep underground laboratory exploring the mysteries of the universe.
Tickets £7 : tap/click here
Friday 13th November, 7.30pm
The Antikythra Mechanism
Professor Mike Edmunds
The Antikythera Mechanism, a mysterious metal relic dating to 1st–2nd century BCE Greece, looks very different using modern imaging methods.
These techniques, and references in classical literature, show that the mechanism fits well within its astronomical era (c.200–60 BCE) and its design may reflect earlier astronomical conventions.
This ingenious device also plays a part in the development of the idea of a “mechanical universe”.
Mike Edmunds is Emeritus Professor of Astrophysics at Cardiff University. His research focused on chemical elements in the universe and the origin of interstellar dust, while his later work has explored the history of astronomy, including the Antikythera Mechanism.
Antikthra mechanism photograph courtesy of Logg Tandy, CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Tickets £12 : tap/click here
Saturday 14th November, 10.00 to 16.00
Science Fair
Get down to this year’s Science Fair for stalls, demonstrations and great experiments to try out. The Courthouse will be alive with local and regional groups showing off the best science Yorkshire has to offer. This year there will also be an out-of-this-world extra special activity in Otley Library. From physics to biology and engineering to wildlife, there really is something for everyone!
Cakes, teas, coffees, and lunch available in the café all day.
Free event with something for everyone – more information on the Science Fair page
Saturday 14th, 20.00
Solar Superstorms – Are We Ready For Another Carrington Event
Professor Jim Wild
In September 1859, astronomer Richard Carrington made the first recorded observations of a solar flare. Less than twenty four hours later, the most powerful geomagnetic storm ever recorded hit Earth, sparking auroral displays visible as far south as the Caribbean and disrupting the global telegraph network.
The “Carrington event” pre-dated many technologies we depend upon today, such as power grids, satellites, and wireless communications. How vulnerable are we to space weather? Are we prepared for the next Carrington event?
Prof. Jim Wild of Lancaster University, and President of the Royal Astronomical Society, considers the resilience of the modern world to extreme space weather.
Tickets £12 : click/tap here
Further information and tickets:
All events will be held at Otley Courthouse with tickets available from the Courthouse in person and on line.
We’d really like to hear what you thought of the Science Festival as a whole, so if you have attended, or even just thought about attending, then please follow this link and give us your feedback (note: closed at the moment, will reopen closer to the event)
The address of Otley Courthouse is below.
Otley Courthouse Arts Centre
Courthouse Street
Otley
West Yorks
LS21 3AN
Phone: 01943 467466.
You can email Otley Science Festival here: info@otleysciencefestival.co.uk or follow us on Bluesky @otleyscience.bsky.social Instagram @otleyscience Facebook otleyscience
Otley Science Festival is supported by a number of sponsors whose help enables us to put on this great event. Our thanks go to all of them.
For the record, the details of last year’s Science Festival can be found here, the 2024 Festival can be found here, the 2023 Festival here and the 2022 Festival here. Looking further back the 2021 Science Festival is here. 2020’s Covid impacted Science Festival here and back to those innocent pre-Covid days, you can find the record of 2019’s Science Festival here
Otley Science Festival 