– NI Science Festival takes place February 19 to March 1 –
FANCY taking on a crack role in CSI Belfast, delving into the mind of a zombie, or training as an astronaut?
How about investigating the world’s ugliest animals, or taking part in the world’s biggest science lesson?
All of these activities and more will be available at the first ever Northern Ireland Science Festival, a stellar mix of the silly and the serious.
Proving that science, technology, engineering and maths are anything but boring, the 11-day extravaganza, beginning on February 19, is open to all and will comprise over 100 entertaining and informative events across venues such as the BBC, W5, Titanic Belfast, Queen’s University Belfast, the Black Box, the Nerve Centre and the Ulster Museum.
According to NI Science Festival Director Chris McCreery, the region’s rich heritage in the fields of science, technology and engineering are the equal of any on the world stage and deserve celebration.
“We have a really strong programme, packed with brilliant events and we have some amazing, world-renowned speakers, who we hope will inspire our next generation of scientists and technology professionals.
“Reflecting how important science is to our economy, we have also received fantastic support from our universities, the Department for Employment and Learning, Belfast City Council and the British Council.”
Employment and Learning Minister, Dr Stephen Farry MLA, said “I am pleased to support the first ever Science Festival in Northern Ireland which will showcase Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) skills, careers, initiatives and talent from Northern Ireland and beyond to a wide ranging audience. Skills in STEM will be key drivers behind Northern Ireland’s economy in the 21st century. I hope that as many people as possible can attend the events and go on to be inspired to study or pursue a career in these sectors in Northern Ireland.
“In addition to the financial support being provided by my Department, we will also be hosting two events as part of the wider festival programme. These will be interactive ‘Master-classes’ featuring international speakers which will take place in Belfast and Derry. The festival is another innovative collaboration between Government, employers, academia and our local STEM representatives.”
During the day, the festival will see workshops, talks and interactive activities for young people, parents and schools, while in the evening the festival will come alive with an eclectic mix of scientific debates, talks, theatre, comedy, music and film for adults.
Why not become the scientist and the experiment with dozens of hands-on exhibits at the special Bodyworks Exhibition at W5?
And in celebration of all things digital, BBC Northern Ireland will open its doors for an interactive hands-on event, a festivals within a festival, featuring coding games inspired by TV favourites like Dr Who and Sherlock will lift the lid on the my
The Royal Society of Chemistry and British Council will invite schoolchildren to attempt to break a world record at the Odyssey Arena, as kids aged 10-12 take part in a massive enquiry-based lesson and try their hand at solving a “crime” using science.
For older budding sleuths, the CSI Belfast workshop will give a hands-on chance to use real forensic techniques, gather evidence and solve a crime, using fingerprint analysis, powder analysis, blood typing and cryptography.
A comedy event, “Ugly Animals” encourages the audience ditch pandas and penguins and investigate less attractive critters, while a spoof lecture from Dr Ken Howe from the “Zombie Institute for Theoretical Studies” peers into the brain of the infamous movie monster.
And for a truly out-of-this-world experience, Armagh Planetarium will offer a special ‘Astronaut Training Mission’ for any primary or secondary school visit to the Planetarium and there will also be an audience with Mark Thompson, host of the BBC’s popular, Stargazing LIVE, in Belfast.
The festival will also feature a lecture in honour of Alan Turing, the man who cracked the Enigma code and who is credited with ‘inventing the computer’.
Dr Robert M Pepper, vice president of global technology at top IT firm Cisco, will be delivering the Turing Lecture Series 2015 on the “The Internet Paradox”, lauding the man who was recently played by Benedict Cumberbatch in the Oscar-tipped Hollywood film ‘The Imitation Game’.
And if all that has whetted your appetite for knowledge, St Georges Market will be offering a ‘Menu of the Future’, with cooking demonstrations and ‘alternative’ foods to sample such as insect treats and algae appetisers before being treated to a cocktail of chemistry, as the Ulster Museum is transformed into a giant laboratory.
The NI Science Festival is funded by the Department of Employment and Learning, Belfast City Council, Queen’s University Belfast, Ulster University and the British Council. For further information about the Northern Ireland Science Festival log on to http://www.nisciencefestival.com , facebook.com/NISCIFEST or @niscifest
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