Featuring a diverse programme of over a hundred talks, debates, performances and activities, the British Science Festival will be held between Tuesday 11 and Friday 14 September 2018 with events happening across the city as well as on the University campus.
The event will also be followed by the two-day Hull Science Festival, hosted at the University on Saturday 15 and Sunday 16 September. Featuring a host of hands-on activities, demonstrations, and talks designed to engage all the family, the Hull Science Festival will be a fantastic way to round off a week of scientific exploration and discovery in Hull this September.
David Richards, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Enterprise at the University of Hull said: “Hosting the Festival provides an incredible opportunity not only to bring the best of British science here but to showcase nationally our region’s significant contribution to this field. Securing such a prestigious event is a great way to celebrate the pioneering research, innovation and creativity that comes out of Hull and the Humber.”
Ørsted, one of Europe’s leading renewable energy companies, has been confirmed as the Festival’s first Principal Partner. Ørsted’s vision is a world that runs entirely on green energy and the company has already invested £8bn in UK infrastructure and will be investing at least another £4bn by 2020.
Matthew Wright, Ørsted’s UK Managing Director, said: “Ørsted is absolutely committed to the Humber region, which is fast becoming a world-leading hub for renewable energy. We’ve already invested billions of pounds into the area and are hugely excited to be part of the British Science Festival, which promises to be a fantastic event showcasing exceptional British science and innovation.”
The British Science Association has also today announced that it has opened a grant scheme for community groups and other organisations based in Hull and the Humber region that would like to be involved in this year’s Festival. The BSA will provide grants of £500 to community organisations that work directly with audiences that are traditionally underrepresented and currently not engaged in science activity. The aim of these grants is to empower and support community groups to run their own science activities as part of the Festival, enabling new local audiences to engage with science.
The deadline to apply for a grant is Friday 25 May and applicants must complete a short online form.
Working in partnership with the University of Hull and other organisations in the Humber region, the British Science Festival will be a flagship event as part of Hull’s City of Culture legacy focusing on three key areas - energy and the environment; health and the medical sciences; and exploration, movement and discovery.
The Festival will focus on an audience of non-specialist adults with a broad interest in science, delivering 100 events, specially curated by the British Science Association. World-leading academics from University of Hull and other institutions and organisations across the UK will present, discuss and debate cutting-edge science (across the scientific spectrum including technology, engineering and social sciences) at a range of different events, from talks to performances.
The British Science Festival has only visited Hull twice in its history, the first in 1853 and most recently in 1922.
The Festival has been the stage for many iconic moments in history – such as the famous debate on Darwin’s controversial theory of evolution between Thomas Huxley and the Bishop of Oxford in 1860. It also saw the first use of the word ‘scientist,’ in 1834.
The origins of the Festival, previously known as the annual meeting, can be traced back to York, in 1831. Since then it has travelled the globe, including visits to Montreal and Australia.