The schedule is set for this year’s Science Festival, running from Monday 14th to Saturday 19th November. As ever a range of great speakers, a Science Café, the return of the popular Science Quiz (this time in person and with an added food option) and a new event – the Friday matinée. Plus, of course, a series of daytime schools shows.
This is how it looks:
- Monday 14th, 10.30am – Early Explorers (for under 5s)
- Monday 14th, 7.30pm – The return of our Science Quiz, this time in person at Otley Courthouse, including the option of a fish and chip / vegetarian supper
- Tuesday 15th, 7.30pm – Professor Chris Jackson on ‘The Geological Record of Climate Change’
- Wednesday 16th, 7.30pm – Science Café
- Thursday 17th, 7.30pm – Family friendly “Stunt Science” with Marty Jopson
- Friday 18th 2pm matinee with Kersten Hall on Florence Bell – The Forgotten Heroine of DNA
- Friday 18th, 7.30pm – Matthew Cobb: ‘The Genetic Age – Our Perilous Quest To Edit Life’
- Saturday 19th 10am – 4pm the ever popular Science Fair
- Saturday 19th, 8pm – Yorkshire’s own Paul Hudson talking about Yorkshire’s weather, climate change and his life on TV.
As well as these public events there will be events for schools (KS1 and KS2) running Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday daytimes. Home schoolers are welcome to join these. Further details can be found on the Schools Page.
Monday 14th November, 10.30 – 12.00
Early Explorers
The science special for the under 5’s is back! Join us to let your child investigate with their senses and explore the scientific world around them.
Activity for local families with children aged 0 to 5. Sorry, no group bookings due to limited tickets.
Thanks to Otley Children’s Centre for their contribution to this event. Supported by Otley Town Council.
Tickets £4 / child, accompanying adult free : book here
Monday 14th November, 19.30
Science Quiz
After successfully quizzing our way virtually through the pandemic, we are bringing the Science Festival Quiz back into the Courthouse. We’ll also be serving fish ‘n’ chips or veggie lasagne from Otley’s Maypole Fisheries in the interval. To avoid disappointment, book your table early.
Each team can have a maximum of 6 members.
Tickets £10 with food, £6 without : book here
Tuesday 15th, 19.30
Professor Chris Jackson: ‘The Geological Record of Climate Change’
The Earth is warming, with present and future changes in our climate being of global concern.
Occurring before humans inhibited the Earth, these often dramatic and rapid changes in climate were driven by a range of natural processes, controlling the habitability of our planet and its associated biodiversity. In this talk we will look at the geological record of climate change, how these changes impacted life on Earth, and how this can help us better understand our present and future climate
You can find out more about Professor Jackson at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Jackson_(geologist)
Tickets £10 : book here
Wednesday 16th November, 19.30
Science Café
Now in its fifteenth season, the Otley Science Café promises to bring the usual eclectic mixture 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 (under 18s free, but still require a ticket) : book here
Thursday 17th November, 19.30
Family friendly “Stunt Science” with Marty Jopson
Join Marty Jopson, Otley’s resident science bloke, as he places himself in grave personal danger. Watch in horror as he sets fire to his own hand, introduces the audience to the Pendulum of Doom, explains how to play a tune with two million Volts, the science of seriously loud explosions and the maths of a karate chop.
Adults £11, Children £9, Family Ticket £35 : book here
Friday 18th November, 14.00
Kersten Hall, visiting fellow at the Centre for the History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Leeds: Florence Bell – The Forgotten Heroine of DNA
Our first matinée show, with tea/coffee and a great presenter.
When the scientist Florence Bell died in 2000, her occupation was recorded as ‘housewife’. Yet in 1938, as a young physicist working at the University of Leeds, she had shown, for the first time, that X-rays could be used to reveal the regular, ordered structure of DNA. So who was Bell, and why has one of science’s most important figures disappeared into the shadows of history?
In the meantime you can find out more about Kersten Hall at http://www.kerstenhall.com/
Tickets £6 : book here
Friday 18th November, 19.30
Matthew Cobb, Professor of Zoology at Manchester University: ‘The Genetic Age – Our Perilous Quest To Edit Life’
A new gene editing technology called CRISPR has turned humanity into gods, enabling us to manipulate the genes in virtually any organism with exquisite precision. But CRISPR is just the latest, giant leap in a long journey to master genetics. The Genetic Age shows the astonishing, world-changing potential of the new genetics and the possible threats it poses, sifting between fantasy and the reality when it comes to both benefits and dangers.
Matthew Cobb is Professor of Zoology at the University of Manchester and the presenter of the BBC radio series ‘Genetic Dreams, Genetic Nightmares’.
You can find out more about Professor Cobb at https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/cobb.html
Tickets £10 : book here
Saturday 19th 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. 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
Saturday 19th, 20.00 (note corrected time)
Yorkshire’s own Paul Hudson: A History of Weather
Paul Hudson has been Look North’s forecaster for 25 years, having worked in the international forecast unit at Met Office HQ before returning to his native Yorkshire in 1997. He has written 5 books on the weather and climate change, teaming up with the late Ian McCaskill and Michael Fish to warn about the dangers that lie ahead with our climate. In this Science Festival exclusive, Paul will be looking at Yorkshire’s weather, climate change and a lifetime spent on our screens.
You can find Paul on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/paultheweatherman/
Tickets £16 : book here
Further information and tickets:
All events will be held at Otley Courthouse with tickets availble 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
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 Twitter @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.
Looking back the details of last year’s Science Festival is here. Further back left the details of 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 