Meteorological summer is over 😦 But never mind, it means that September Science Café is on its way 🙂
All the details are on our web site here or you can just go and get your tickets here Come and join us!
fun science
March: spring (maybe); Science Café (definitely!)
Into 2025, here’s our first Science Café – Thursday 27th March, 7.30pm at Otley Courthouse
Full details are here, on the Science Cafés page
2025 Dates For Your Diary
We’re off with planning for this year’s Science Festival, so you can put the dates in your diary. We’re planning to begin with a family show on Sunday 9th November and close out with the Fair and our last speaker on Saturday 15th. In between will be our usual enticing selection of science based events and daytime schools shows for KS1 and KS2 pupils.
Full details will follow in due course.
Plus, of course, in the meantime there will be our regular Science Cafés currently scheduled for March 27th and June 26th, with one to follow in September, date tbc.
Looking forward to seeing you there!
Festival 2024 is now behind us…
Another great range of events and a really popular Fair day. Thanks as ever to our presenters, stall holders and volunteers who made it possible. And, of course, thanks to everyone who came to join us. Here’s a small look back at some of the activities:
Lastly, I’m going to pick out one chart from Friday’s presentation “When Antarctica Was Green” by Dame Professor Jane Francis, Director of the British Antarctic Survey. It shows the results of using ice cores to directly see CO2 levels over the last 800,000 years (well beyond the arrival of homo sapiens).
At no time over those years was CO2 above 300ppm. It is now 422ppm. She said that in the past, when it was above 400ppm sea levels were 5-10m higher than they are now…
You can find more photos from this year and from past Festivals on our Flickr group at https://flic.kr/g/gvMsL
Summer? Well, June Science Café…
Things can only get better… maybe. No, let’s be positive. Long summer days are nearly here and so is the June Science Café. Below is the poster, or you can follow the link for all the information on the Science Café page
That was 2023
Here’s a quick look back at some bits of this year’s festival. Thanks to everyone who helped make it happen, the Courthouse, all our excellent presenters and of course you, the people who came.
And so on to 2024, starting with our first Science Café on Thursday March 14th. You can find all our dates for the year on our calendar page here.
15th Otley Science Festival: November 13th – 18th
We’ve been working at it for quite a while and now have confirmed another great line up for this, our 15th Science Festival.
Once again we have a set of great speakers on diverse topics, another Science Quiz (with food option), a Science Café, and something different – a Friday evening introduction to cheese science, with tasting! Plus, of course, a series of daytime schools shows.
In addition the popular Science Fair (Saturday 18th) will be bigger than ever – we have expanded into an additional venue, the nearby Bridge Church, to provide more space for activities, stalls and workshops. Not to be missed!!
You can find the full schedule here on the Festival 2023 page. As we write there are a few session details to be added, plus we’re not yet selling tickets. But watch this space and all will be complete soon 🙂
Festival Week 2022: Here We Go
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 2015: Monday 9 Nov – Sat 14 Nov
We have a fabulous week lined up for you. See below for the full line-up, printed programmes will be available from the Courthouse in September:
Tickets are available now – have you got yours yet?
Click here for details of Schools Events
Otley Science Festival is Supported by:
Otley Town Partnership – Otley Town Council – Needham Geoscience – Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society – Institute of Physics – Rotary Club of Otley MICE Money given by Cllrs Colin Campbell, Ryk Downes and Sandy Lay.
Silly Science Toddler Time – Families
Mon 9 Nov 9.30 – 10.30 am
It’s never too early to start having fun with science! Join us for a special under 5s science fair and let your child investigate with their senses and explore the scientific world around them.
Laid on specially for the Courthouse by the Otley Children’s Centre, this is a ticketed event with limited spaces, so please book early to avoid disappointment.
£3 per child, accompanying adults free. Children 5 and under
Silly Science Toddler Time – Groups
Mon 9 Nov 10.45 – 11.45 am
A science fair specifically aimed at groups of under 5s from nurseries, play groups and child minders only.
Laid on specially for the Courthouse by the Otley Children’s Centre, this is a ticketed event with limited spaces, so please book early to avoid disappointment.
£3 per child, accompanying adults free. Children 5 and under
Bubblology with Marty Jopson
Mon 9 Nov 7.30pm
Join Marty Jopson, the science expert on the BBC1 One Show as he peers into the slippery, soapy world of bubbles on a quest for the perfectly polyhedral bubble. What’s really going on in a bubble, where do the colours come from, how long can a bubble last and why do they burst?
There will be flaming bubbles, smokey bubbles, exploding bubbles, square bubbles and gargantuan monster bubbles – all in the name of science.
“You just made a scientist!” Lancashire Science Festival, U.C.Lan
£10/£8 Families and children aged 7 upwards.
Festival Science Café
Tues 10 Nov 7:30pm
The Otley Science Festival’s most popular event returns once more to bring you three speakers each with their own bite sized scientific speciality. Join us for a relaxed and fun evening suitable for all ages and all interests – here are the topics:
- Science of the Past: A life & death in the Bronze Age
– Cathy Batt, Senior Lecturer in Archaeological Sciences, Univ. of Bradford - Fishing for clouds: Searching the oceans for ice nucleating particles
– Theo Wilson, Research Fellow, School of Earth & Environment, Univ. of Leeds - Up, up & away (and hopefully back again)
– Phil Robertson, Head of Science, Otley All Saints School
With each speaker given a quarter of an hour to talk there will be plenty of time afterwards for you to further grill them with questions and mingle over a drink.
£4/£3 Adults and young people. Bar.
Graphene and the Unexpected Science in a Pencil Line – Science Festival Lunch
Weds 11 Nov 12.30pm – 2.00pm
Enjoy a delicious buffet lunch then sit back and listen to Dr. Aravind Vijayaraghavan, Lecturer in Nanomaterials at the University of Manchester, as he introduces you to graphene, the world’s first 2-dimensional material. Discover the superlative properties of graphene, its strength, conductivity, flexibility and transparency. Find out how it can be made, even by you, using a piece of pencil lead and a roll of sticky tape and crucially, hear about the exciting future prospects for this wonder material.
Tickets are limited and pre-booking is essential.
£6 including buffet lunch.
Darwin’s Brilliant Blunder: A Guided Reading with Prof Gregory Radick
Wed 11, Thur 12, Fri 13 Nov, 6.30pm each evening 
In 1868, Charles Darwin published his hypothesis of “pangenesis”. Intended by Darwin to explain inheritance and related topics, it has gone down in history as one of Darwin’s biggest failures. So what was pangenesis and why did Darwin back it? This group, meeting three evenings in a row, will be a chance to read and discuss one of Darwin’s least understood but most fascinating ideas. One ticket covers attendance to all three, one hour long sessions.
Tickets are extremely limited, so please book early.
£10 . Adults and young people.
The Element in the Room: A Radioactive Musical Comedy about the Death and Life of Marie Curie
Wed 11 Nov 7.30pm
A new musical comedy about Marie Curie and her scientific research. Tangram Theatre’s John Hinton and Daniel Goldman bring their trademark irreverence, comedy songs and interactive on-stage experiments to explain radioactivity, X-Ray technology and the on-going search for a cancer cure. With an emphasis on making big ideas exciting, fun and accessible to audiences of all ages and backgrounds. The show explains the science behind Curie’s ground-breaking work, bringing her research right up to date, and exploring some of the most important scientific challenges of the modern day.
£12/£10 Age 7 and upwards. Bar.
The Theory of Everything
Thur 12 Nov 7.45pm
A special Science Festival screening of The Theory of Everything by Otley Film Society. The Theory of Everything is the story of the most brilliant and celebrated physicist of our time, Stephen Hawking, and Jane Wilde the arts student he fell in love with whilst studying at Cambridge in the 1960s. Over the course of their marriage as Stephen’s body collapsed and his academic renown soared, fault lines were exposed that tested the lineaments of their relationship and dramatically altered the course of both of their lives.
£4 / Film Society members free. Certificate 12A. Bar
Limited Tickets available in advance from The Courthouse
Bat Based Biology and the Bat Man of Leeds
Fri 13 Nov 7.30pm
Join Prof. John Altringham from Leeds University on a journey from Wharfedale to the Western Ghats, and many places in between, to look at the fascinating biology of bats, the most successful and diverse of all mammals. How does echolocation work? Why do tequila drinkers love bats? What does the island of Krakatau have to do with bats? Why are some bats so ugly? Why is one species of bat worth 20 billion dollars a year to the US economy? Just some of the questions that will be answered.
£6/£4 Age 7 and upwards. Bar.
Otley Science Fair
Sat 14 Nov 10am – 4pm
From physics to biology and engineering to wildlife, come along to the Otley Courthouse for this year’s even bigger science fair. With stalls, demonstrations, workshops and experiments to have a go at, there really is something for everyone. Join local groups, regional museums and national organisations showing off the best of hands-on science in Yorkshire.
Free Event. Something for everyone.
The Science of Game of Thrones
Sat 14 Nov 7.30pm
Join us for an evening of Ice and Fire (though if we’re honest about it, mostly Fire). Award-winning comedian Helen Keen and explosive science communicator Ian Simmons from Newcastle’s Centre for Life present experiments and demonstrations exploring some of the burning issues raised by George R R Martin’s epic adventure. Are fire breathing dragons likely? What really happens when royal families inter-breed? Could real world pyromancers create green wildfire and destroy a fleet of ships? And can you actually, really, crush someone’s skull with your bare hands? Think you know the answers? Or, do you know nothing (Jon Snow)?
Come along either way, in costume if you want, we would love that!
£10/£8 Age 14 and upwards. Bar.
Further information and tickets:
Tickets from www.otleycourthouse.org.uk
Box office 01943 467216 10am-4pm Mon-Sat inclusive
Where Concessionary Ticket prices are shown these apply to:
- under 16s
- those in receipt of benefits
- those in full time education
- Senior Citizens who are 60+ and retired
Buy in person from Otley Courthouse 10am-4pm Mon-Sat or on the door.
All events at Otley Courthouse
(unless otherwise specified):
Otley Courthouse Arts Centre,
Courthouse Street,
Otley,
West Yorks
LS21 3AN
Tel: 01943 467466
Otley Science Festival: Sunday 3 Nov – Sat 9 Nov
This year, our Science Festival Week kicks off a week and a day earlier than previously on Sunday 3rd November and goes through to Saturday 9th November. Tickets are going fast – have you got yours yet?
We have a fabulous week lined up for you. See below for the full line-up:
Click here for details of Schools Events;
Kids’ Film & Fun with Wall-E – Sold Out
Sun 3 Nov 10.00am – 2.00pm
Come as a family and build a robot from recycled boxes, toilet rolls and milk bottle tops, followed by you and your newly created robots watching the children’s classic Wall-E on the big screen. All materials supplied. This is a ticketed event with limited spaces, so please book early to avoid disappointment.
Lunch is not provided and children must be accompanied by an adult.
£4 per ticket, one accompanying adult free. Children 4 to 14.
Silly Science Toddler Time – Families
Mon 4 Nov 9.30 – 10.30 am
Come along with your child and join in the fun science activities aimed specifically at the under 5s. From the earliest age children are natural scientists, using their senses to investigate and explore the world around them.
This is a ticketed event with limited spaces, so please book early to avoid disappointment.
£3 per child. Children 5 and under. Accompanying Adults Free
Silly Science Toddler Time – Groups
Mon 4 Nov 10.45 – 11.45 am
A science session for groups of under 5s from nurseries, play groups and child minders only. Families should book for the 9:30 session above.
This is a ticketed event with limited spaces, so please book early to avoid disappointment.
£3 per child. Children 5 and under. Accompanying Adults Free
Marty Jopson – Zap Crackle and Pop
Mon 4 Nov 7.30pm
Join Dr Marty Jopson, Otley’s resident BBC One Show scientist as he takes a sparky journey through the story of electricity.
From the Ancient Greeks, through Faraday’s genius, Marty brings the story bang up to date with the latest high tech inventions like graphene. Expect a hair raising but electrifying performance.
★★★ “Full of ideas you can take home and set fire to” Fringe Guru, Edinburgh
£9/£7 Families and children aged 7 upwards. Bar.
Festival Science Cafe
Tue 5 Nov 7.30pm
To celebrate Bonfire Night, we have a specially themed Science Café with three speakers each spending 10 minutes talking on a firework related subject followed by our usual lively question and answer session. From natural fireworks to the epidemiology of firework injuries, there may even be a few, perfectly safe, indoor fireworks…
£4/£3 Adults and young people. Bar.
In Search of the Northern Lights
– Science Festival Lunch
Wed 6 Nov 12.30pm – 2.00pm
Enjoy a delicious buffet lunch then sit back and listen as Prof. Jim Wild, explores our planet’s intimate relationship with the Sun and reveals the science behind the northern lights. These mysterious dancing lights in the night sky have captivated observers since ancient times, but what causes these beautiful displays in the polar sky?
Please note that pre-booking of tickets is essential.
£6 including buffet lunch.
Stefan Gates – Gastronaut Live
Fri 8 Nov 7.30pm
CBBC’s Stefan Gates (Incredible Edibles, Gastronuts) performs a big, bad, explosive, world-changing food science show.
BEWARE: there will be flame-throwing and rockets, mind-blowing chemistry, lots of explosions and some very strange food indeed.
“Full of food, fun, science and brilliance!” Cheltenham Science Festival
£9/£7 Families and children aged 7 upwards. Bar.
Helen Keen – Robot Woman of Tomorrow
Fri 8 Nov 9.15pm
Creator of BBC Radio 4s hit space comedy It Is Rocket Science, award-winning comedian Helen Keen returns to Otley to bring us her esoteric mix of stand-up, science fiction and shadow puppetry in a show that will transport you into the exciting, inventive and tinfoil-y world of The Future (by at least an hour!).
“Perfect… highly intelligent, accessible stand-up” Three Weeks
£9/£7 Adults only. Bar.
Otley Science Fair
Sat 9 Nov 10am – 4pm
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. Cakes, teas, coffees and lunch available in the café all day.
FREE ENTRY.
Small fee for some activities. Something for everyone.
Supported by:
Otley Town Partnership – Otley Town Council – Needham Geoscience
Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society – Institute of Physics
Leeds Bradford Materials Engineering Society
Councillors C.Campbell, R.Downes + S.Lay though MICE Money.
Mike Dilger – The Trials and Tribulations of a Natural History Presenter
Sat 9 Nov 7.30pm
Join the BBC natural history presenter, Mike Dilger on an illuminating and sideways look at what it takes to produce popular and accessible wildlife television. Featuring some clips from The One Show, Mike reveals what often goes on behind the scenes on location and spills the beans on everything you wanted to know about TV presenting but were too afraid to ask.
£9/£7 Adults and young people. Bar.
Further information and tickets:
Tickets from www.otleycourthouse.org.uk
Box office 01943 467216 10am-4pm Mon-Sat inclusive
Where Concessionary Ticket prices are shown these apply to:
- under 16s
- those in receipt of benefits
- those in full time education
- Senior Citizens who are 60+ and retired
Buy in person from Otley Courthouse 10am-4pm Mon-Sat or on the door.
All events at Otley Courthouse
(unless otherwise specified):
Otley Courthouse Arts Centre,
Courthouse Street,
Otley,
West Yorks
LS21 3AN
Tel: 01943 467466
Otley Science Festival 