Bradford Science Festival, produced by the National Science and Media Museum, will be returning this May half term (23 May-4 June), ahead of the museum temporarily closing for a year-long transformation. Free tickets for the festival are now available to book online.
This year’s festival will be themed around Vision: Seeing the Hidden World to explore how we use science and technology to see things we can’t see with the naked eye. Headlining the festival this year is Giant Leaps, while BradLab and STEM City return to explore the amazing science happening locally and the exciting careers available in science, technology, engineering and maths.
Specially commissioned for Bradford Science Festival, festivalgoers can get involved with acclaimed choreographer Corey Baker to create the first dance in space, through an out-of-this-world immersive experience, Giant Leaps. Visitors can throw shapes as avatar dancers to see how they move under different gravity conditions, influencing the movements of stars, space dust and dark matter as they journey through the galaxies.
Over the May half term (27 May-2 June), visitors will be able to get hands on with science in activities to make their own chromotrope or see things up close in a microscope along with special performances and dance workshops led by Corey Baker Dance and interactive science shows to explore the illuminating world of light.
Wrapping up the festival at the museum will be a big family weekend on 3 and 4 June. Festivalgoers will be able to take part in activities and interactive workshops led by community partners. Hosted by Future Transformations, in To the Moon and Back visitors can learn the secrets of space travel while building their own Orion spacecraft. In Future of Money, the Bank of England dives into the value of money and how the way we pay things has changed over time. Led by Liberty Arts, Curiosity, the Laser and Me explores the pioneering life of African American ophthalmologist Patricia Bath and her contributions to the field of medicine. Join researchers from the University of Bradford to learn about microscopic, intergalactic and archaeological hidden worlds. Visitors will also be able to groove along with giant puppets and infectious live drumming by Global Grooves.
Bradford Science Festival will come to an end in the museum on 4 June but will continue its programme throughout August with community days at WomenZone, SHINE West Bowling, MAPA Cultural Arts Centre and Laisterdyke Youth and Community Centre.
Elaine Richmond, Community Partnerships and Events Manager at the National Science and Media Museum commented: “We’re thrilled to be bringing back Bradford Science Festival for another year. This year’s festival will be exploring all the amazing ways we use science and technology to see the hidden world around us. We’ll be kicking off a fun-filled programme in the museum over May half term with an immersive headliner and hands-on experiences. Then over the summer while the museum is temporarily closed, we’ll be taking the festival into the city with pop ups at community venues for even more surprising science and activities.”
The festival will mark the culmination of the museum’s successful public programme as it enters a temporary closure period to undergo a £6m refurbishment. During the temporary closure period, a range of outreach activities with community groups and schools– in person and online – will enable audiences to stay in touch and track progress.
For more information about Bradford Science Festival and to book free tickets, please visit: www.scienceandmediamuseum.org.uk/whats-on/bradford-science-festival
