Events to connect everyone at this year’s Edinburgh Science Festival 2017

VISITORS are invited to “Get Connected” to science, to one another and to the global community at this month’s 29^th Edinburgh International Science Festival.

Venues across the Capital have opened their doors for events which share the theme of helping us come together to secure the future we want to inhabit.

Edinburgh's City Art Centre is the festival hub for families.

For adults there are discussions, workshops and screenings which explore the challenges and opportunities of our modern world.

Educational and fun hands-on activities, and shows have also been organised for children and teenagers.

Families are also encouraged to visit their City Art Centre which has been turned into a “six-floor science playground” with drop-in activities and three bookable activities per child day pass.

Many activities for children will also take place at other venues. Today, tomorrow, and on Thursday, April 6, from 11am to 3pm, children 5+, can drop-in to a Creative Science: Polar Felting event, at Stratosphere, Dynamic Earth.

Creative Science: Polar Felting is back by popular demand.

There they can join fibre artist Ewa Kuniczak to explore polar worlds while creating their favourite felt polar wildlife creation to take home - whether that might be a penguin, arctic fox or a walrus.

The festival partner, Scottish electricity producer EDF Energy, has teamed with the programme to help invest in the next generation of Scottish minds.

They explain:  “We are engaging them, inspiring them, and encouraging them to think about careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) because we know that if Scotland is to address the energy challenges of the future it needs to have a workforce with strong skills in STEM.”

Girls involved in the Pretty Curious campaign, in Edinburgh.

They also run the Pretty Curious campaign which encourages girls to consider STEM subjects and careers. At the festival they are especially keen to welcome girls to join in with the workshops, hear from other female STEM role models and get creative with technology.

High-profile guests, doctors, scientists and professors will take part in the festival - which attracted approximately 100,000 visitors last year.

A Very Short Introduction to Animal Behaviour.

For animal lovers, on Monday, April 10, Dr Tristram Wyatt will discuss how new technology has caused a revolution in the study of animal behaviour. Guests can discover how we can understand animal societies better now through investigation that was never previously possible.

The discussion, A Very Short introduction to Animal Behaviour, will take place from 1pm to 2pm, at the Anatomy Lecture Theatre in Summerhall, and costs £6 for a standard ticket.

Other talks introduce discussion about all manner of topics from the Ice Age, and climate change, to viruses. Another talk entitled GoatMan: How I Took a Holiday from Being Human, is by 2016 Nobel Prize winner Thomas Thwaites who transformed himself into a goat and left humankind to set off with a herd across the Alps.

He talks about his experience of building a goat exoskeleton – including artificial legs, helmet, chest protector, raincoat from his mum and a prosthetic goat stomach to digest grass – and what happened.

Thomas Thwaites during his journey as a goat.

It takes place on Wednesday, April 5, from 8pm to 9pm at the Main Hall, Summerhall for adults 14+ at a standard price of £8.50.

On Saturday, April 8, there is a talk called: A technophobe’s guide to disconnecting, from 3pm to 4.30pm at the same venue, for £8.50.

Visitors can hear from open data expert Professor Ewan Klein, astrobiology research scientist and author Professor Lewis Dartnell and open web fellow and researcher Éireann Leverett to find out what it's like to live without leaving a digital trace, how to survive off-grid and what the digital breadcrumbs we leave behind can say about us.

Can computers be creative?

In their event description they ask: “In a world where we use more and more technology for everyday tasks, what would it take to live your life without technology, and why would you want to?”

Some other discussions showing are entitled: Catching the Travel Bug, Can computers be creative?, Chimps on Trial, Dictionary for a New World, Digital Smells in a Digital Future, and Disrupting the food chain.

Tickets are now on sale for events which run until April 16 at various venues, including the City Art Centre, National Museum of Scotland and Summerhall.

Visit their What’s On webpage at:  https://www.sciencefestival.co.uk/festival to see full listings and book tickets. 

Tickets can also be purchased via their booking hotline on 0844 557 2686, or in person from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Shop at 180 High Street, Edinburgh.

Shows, activities, discussions cater for everyone at the Edinburgh International Science Festival 2017.