Glasgow Science Festival (GSF) is a

science festival A science festival is a festival that showcases science and technology with the same freshness and flair that would be expected from an arts or music festival and primarily targets the general public. These public engagement events can be varied, ...

held every June in Glasgow, Scotland. It was founded in 2007 and provides science-themed events for children, schools and adults at various venues in the city, including lecture theatres, laboratories, cafes, pubs, theatres and cinemas. The majority of events are free of charge to promote accessibility and events are developed primarily with practicing scientists in order to showcase real research. Events include science comedy nights, pub quizzes, whisky tastings, art classes, workshops and tutorials on the science of 'zombie-ism'. Science Sunday is a day of family activities at the University of Glasgow which coincides with the

West End Festival The West End Festival is an annual festival in the Glasgow#West End, West End of Glasgow, Scotland. History The West End Festival in Glasgow was started in 1996 by Michael Dale as a small local festival centred on Byres Road. It has since be ...

. The festival is primarily funded by the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

and the Scottish Government. It also involves partnerships with a variety of organisations including the

University of Strathclyde The University of Strathclyde ( gd, Oilthigh Shrath Chluaidh) is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal chart ...

Glasgow Caledonian University Glasgow Caledonian University ( gd, Oilthigh Chailleannach Ghlaschu, ), informally GCU, Caledonian or Caley, is a public university in Glasgow, Scotland. It was formed in 1993 by the merger of The Queen's College, Glasgow (founded in 1875) and G ...

, the

MRC MRC may refer to Government * Medical Research Council (United Kingdom) * Medical Reserve Corps, a US network of volunteer organizations * Municipalité régionale de comté (regional county municipality), Quebec, Canada * Military Revolutionar ...

, Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum, the RPSB,

Glasgow School of Art The Glasgow School of Art (GSA; gd, Sgoil-ealain Ghlaschu) is a higher education art school based in Glasgow, Scotland, offering undergraduate degrees, post-graduate awards (both taught and research-led), and PhDs in architecture, fine art, and ...

, the

British Science Association The British Science Association (BSA) is a charity and learned society founded in 1831 to aid in the promotion and development of science. Until 2009 it was known as the British Association for the Advancement of Science (BA). The current Chie ...

, Glasgow Botanic Gardens and

Glasgow Science Centre Glasgow Science Centre is a visitor attraction located in the Clyde Waterfront Regeneration area on the south bank of the River Clyde in Glasgow, Scotland. Queen Elizabeth II opened Glasgow Science Centre on 5 July 2001. It is one of Scotland's m ...

The festival director is Dr Deborah McNeill, a

marine biologist Marine biology is the scientific study of the biology of marine life, organisms in the sea. Given that in biology many scientific classification, phyla, family (biology), families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others th ...

and Head of Public Engagement in

STEM Stem or STEM may refer to: Plant structures * Plant stem, a plant's aboveground axis, made of vascular tissue, off which leaves and flowers hang * Stipe (botany), a stalk to support some other structure * Stipe (mycology), the stem of a mushro ...

at the University of Glasgow. In 2013 the festival was launched on a

barge Barge nowadays generally refers to a flat-bottomed inland waterway vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. The first modern barges were pulled by tugs, but nowadays most are pushed by pusher boats, or other vessels ...

on the Forth and Clyde Canal, chartered by The Clipperton Project and attended by Scottish Minister

Alasdair Allan Alasdair James Allan (born 6 May 1971) is a Scottish politician serving as the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Na h-Eileanan an Iar constituency since 2007. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), he served as a Scottish ...

. In 2017 the festival was awarded a Herald Higher Education Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Community for gravitational waves-inspired show 'Chasing the Waves'. 'Chasing the Waves' was also a finalist in the Times Higher Education Awards

Other projects

Outside of the festival period in June, the festival delivers a range of public engagement projects that bring

subjects to new audiences: *'A Shed Load of Science', funded by the

Royal Society of Chemistry The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) is a learned society (professional association) in the United Kingdom with the goal of "advancing the chemistry, chemical sciences". It was formed in 1980 from the amalgamation of the Chemical Society, the Ro ...

, involved working with scientists and artists to deliver free arts-science activities for communities in the North of Glasgow, including

Possilpark Possilpark is a district in the Scottish city of Glasgow, situated north of the River Clyde and centred around Saracen Street. The area developed around Saracen Foundry of Walter MacFarlane & Co., which was the main employer. In the wake of th ...

and

Lambhill Lambhill is an area in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated north of the River Clyde, approximately north of the city centre. Lambhill is a mainly residential area comprising both council and private housing. Residents are of a mixed ...

. *'Cleaner Canal Science' was a collaboration with Scottish Canals and the

Scottish Waterways Trust The Scottish Waterways Trust was an independent registered charity, established as part of The Waterways Trust in 2000. In 2012 The Waterways Trust merged its operations in England and Wales with the Canal & River Trust, and the organisation in ...

, funded by Zero Waste Scotland. This project engaged primary schools, community groups and local businesses in hands-on science, as a means of tackling the problem of litter on canals in Maryhill, Firhill and Clydebank. *'CLAN' (Community Led Ambassador Network) was funded by a Scottish Government Talking Science grant and connected University of Glasgow researchers with communities in the top 0.5% most deprived in Scotland, through free community-led public engagement activity. *'Panto Science: The Periodic Fable' is a theatre show which blends pantomime with science. The idea was conceived by Dr Zara Gladman, Public Engagement Co-ordinator for Glasgow Science Festival,. The story was developed by Dr Gladman with University of Glasgow researchers and comedian Bruce Morton, who wrote the script for a live show. The show aims to promote the message of gender equality in STEM to children. *'Chasing the Waves' was a live, musical show co-written by Dr Zara Gladman and Emily Benita which shared the story of how Glasgow scientists helped detect gravitational waves. The show was the first of its kind to bring gravitational waves to the theatre.

References

{{reflist Science festivals in the United Kingdom Annual events in Glasgow Science and technology in Glasgow 2007 establishments in Scotland Festivals established in 2007 Summer events in Scotland