The Orkney International Science Festival 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, ...

which takes place every September in

Kirkwall Kirkwall ( sco, Kirkwaa, gd, Bàgh na h-Eaglaise, nrn, Kirkavå) is the largest town in Orkney, an archipelago to the north of mainland Scotland. The name Kirkwall comes from the Norse name (''Church Bay''), which later changed to ''Kirkv ...

Orkney Islands Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

and has been running since 1991.

History

The first Orkney International Science Festival took place in 1991, the world's second

. It takes place in September each year, generally at

2013 Festival

The 2014 Orkney International Science Festival was opened by documentary film-maker

Alan Ereira Alan Ereira is a British author, historian and documentary filmmaker. He is a Professor of Practice at the University of Wales, Trinity St. David. Life Educated at Kilburn Grammar School, Ereira subsequently worked at the BBC on television an ...

, and featured over 50 events on topics of astronomy, archaeology, the Arctic, the science of a lost city, Vikings, the search for a lost undersea world, ancient catastrophes on Earth, and supermassive black holes. Speakers included astronomer and author Prof.

Bill Napier William M. Napier (born 29 June 1940 in Perth, Scotland) is the author of five high tech thriller novels and a number of nonfiction science books. Career He received his Bachelor of Science degree in 1963 and his Doctor of Philosophy degree i ...

of Buckingham University, Prof. Bonnie A. Steves of Glasgow Caledonian University, and archaeologist Dr. Cathy Batt from Bradford University.

2014 Festival

The 2014 festival was opened by the former chief scientist of the

Discovery Channel Discovery Channel (known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery) is an American cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav. , Discovery Channe ...

, Professor Steve ‘Jake’ Jacobs. Topics of the festival ranged from the origin of life in space, to clues from genetics to the people of the Viking Age.

2015 Festival

2015 marks the 25th festival. In 2015, the "International Year of Light" will be a theme of the festival, featuring a conversation with Nobel Prizewinner

Peter Higgs Peter Ware Higgs (born 29 May 1929) is a British theoretical physicist, Emeritus Professor in the University of Edinburgh,Griggs, Jessica (Summer 2008The Missing Piece ''Edit'' the University of Edinburgh Alumni Magazine, p. 17 and Nobel Prize ...

, and with highlights including the Higgs boson, Einstein's universe, Maxwell's waves, exploring Mars and Venus, our changing weather, and cracking the cancer code.

2017 Festival

The 2017 festival took place in

Ophir Ophir (; ) is a port or region mentioned in the Bible, famous for its wealth. King Solomon received a shipment from Ophir every three years (1 Kings 10:22) which consisted of gold, silver, sandalwood, pearls, ivory, apes, and peacocks. Biblica ...

church, opened by

Christopher Somerville Christopher is the English version of a Europe-wide name derived from the Greek name Χριστόφορος (''Christophoros'' or '' Christoforos''). The constituent parts are Χριστός (''Christós''), "Christ" or "Anointed", and φέρει� ...

, a travel writer.

2018 Festival

The 28th festival included

Paul Nurse Sir Paul Maxime Nurse (born 25 January 1949) is an English geneticist, former President of the Royal Society and Chief Executive and Director of the Francis Crick Institute. He was awarded the 2001 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine along ...

and

as key speakers. It covered

hydrogen fuel Hydrogen fuel refers to hydrogen which is burned as fuel with oxygen. It is zero-carbon, provided that it is created in a process that does not involve carbon. It can be used in fuel cells or internal combustion engines (see HICEV). Regarding hydr ...

technology for transport, the

Shackleton–Rowett Expedition The Shackleton–Rowett Expedition (1921–22) was Sir Ernest Shackleton's last Antarctic project, and the final episode in the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. The venture, financed by John Quiller Rowett, is sometimes referred to as the ' ...

of Antarctic's seas and topics such as

particle physics Particle physics or high energy physics is the study of fundamental particles and forces that constitute matter and radiation. The fundamental particles in the universe are classified in the Standard Model as fermions (matter particles) an ...

and

black holes A black hole is a region of spacetime where gravity is so strong that nothing, including light or other electromagnetic waves, has enough energy to escape it. The theory of general relativity predicts that a sufficiently compact mass can def ...

Notes and references

{{reflist

External links

Orkney International Science Festival
Science festivals Recurring events established in 1991 Science and technology in Scotland Orkney 1991 establishments in Scotland Science events in the United Kingdom Annual events in Scotland Kirkwall