Festival Week 2022: Here We Go

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Science Festival week runs from 14th to 19th November this year. Here’s our poster, which can’t even fit everything in!

As well as the events on the poster we have Early Explorers for the little ones on Monday morning; this year’s Science Quiz (in person and with food!) on Monday evening; the Science Café on Wednesday evening and Marty Jopson’s family friendly Stunt Science on Thursday evening. And that’s not even mentioning the daytime schools shows on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday!

So much… full details are on the Festival 2022 page

Otley Science Festival 2022 general poster
Otley Science Festival 2022 general poster

Otley Science Festival 2022 is on its way!

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We’ve been working on this year’s Science Festival for quite a while and can now share the shape of the week, beginning Monday 14th November.

This is how it looks:

  • 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 ‘Insulin’
  • 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, 7.30pm – Yorkshire’s own Paul Hudson talking about Yorkshire’s weather, climate change and his life on TV.

In addition, running over Tuesday to Thursday evening between 6pm and 7pm we will have a guided book reading by Greg Radick. The book is Charles Darwin’s ‘The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals’.

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.

Full details of the shows, prices and booking information will be added to the web site shortly.

Festival 2021 is go

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Have a look at our poster. So much going on we couldn’t fit it all in!

As well as what’s on the poster we have Marty Jopson’s Mobile Teardown on Monday 15th; Festival Science Café on Tuesday 16th; Sarah Bearchell’s Cloud Factory (for the younger audience, 2 – 5s) on the afternoon of Wednesday 17th and the return of our Science Quiz that evening.

Plus a bonus event on Wednesday 24th November, an opportunity to tour Sinclairs’ world famous paper stationery factory! Hidden in the backstreets of Otley, with a history back to 1837 but today making millions of school exercise books, notebooks and sketchpads. The tour is free but numbers are very limited.

Sad to report update: Thursday evening’s “Being You” with Anil Seth has been cancelled due to circumstances beyond our control.

Full details of the whole Festival and ticket booking can be found on the Festival 2021 page.

Plus there is an extensive programme of events for junior schools (and home educators) which can be found here.

August already? Then another Science Café next month…

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The mid-summer blended format Science Café came and went in June, along with a bit of good weather. Now, as we write, restrictions have been lifted so (with scientific fingers crossed) September’s Science Café will be going ahead just like they used to in the “good old days”.

We have the usual great line up of speakers covering “Covid-19 vaccines – access, equality and success”; “Pachyderms, parrots and Polynesian tree snails” and “Why BUY? The science behind consumer behaviour”. Find out all about it on the Science Café page.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Welcome back!

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As 2021 progresses and things are looking promising we are getting on with planning a full Science Festival week for November, based on the premise that life will be reasonably back to “normal”. Of course we will keep a close watch on developments and be prepared to adapt if necessary but for now we are pushing ahead with a full week of events in Otley Courthouse for our dates of November 15th – 20th.

We already have several excellent speakers planned (details will follow as soon as we can) and, after how popular it was last year, we thought we’d go for another Science Quiz. Saturday’s Science Fair planning is under way, with a number of new ideas being explored to make it better than ever. Watch this space!

But of course you don’t have to wait until then. Unless something disappointing happens we’ll be back in Otley Courthouse on June 17th for our first in person Science Café since March 2020. This time, though, we are also learning from the last year and you’ll be able join by Zoom as an alternative, if you can’t (or don’t wish to) join us there.

You can find all the details here on the Science Café page

Wecome back!

Half-term Science Spectacular

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Not strictly part of the Science Festival, but absolutely an Otley Science Bonus!

Join Dr. Marty Jopson, the One Show science bloke from the telly, for a week full of spectacular live science delivered direct to your home. During each weekday of the February half-term Marty will show off a different selection of fascinating demonstrations from high voltage physics to viruses under a microscope. The shows are aimed at 8 to 14 year olds, but may appeal to younger or older participants.

Starting on Monday 15th February, each day’s session will begin at 10am. The shows will last 45mins and will be followed by 15mins Q&A, where you can get your questions in!

The topics will cover Taming Electricity, Stunt Science, Garden Monsters, Static Magic and Invisible World.

A ticket for the whole week is £40 + booking fee (covering all 5 days of shows). Tickets for individual shows are £10 + booking fee.

You can find all the details and book here: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/otleycourthouse/half-term-science-spectacular/e-ybyrml