Newcastle ScienceFest is a 10-day event at venues across

NewcastleGateshead NewcastleGateshead is a brand-name associated with the joint promotion of culture, business and tourism within the conurbation formed by Newcastle upon Tyne and Gateshead. With the use of printed matter and a web-site, the organisation produces, ...

, with the principal aim of increasing the North East's enthusiasm for science and encouraging young people to consider a career in this area.

Early history

The first

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 ...

programme in the city ran from 2002 – 2007. In 2008, funding from

One NorthEast One North East was the regional development agency for the North East England region. History It was established in April 1999. The North East received government aid for regeneration. In June 2010, it was announced that One North East was to ...

was awarded for an additional three festivals (2009–2011). The festival is delivered in partnership with

Centre for Life The Centre for Life is a science village in Newcastle upon Tyne where scientists, clinicians, educationalists and business people work to promote the advancement of the life sciences. The centre is a registered charity, governed by a board of ...

Tyne and Wear Museums Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums (TWAM) is a regional group of United Kingdom national museums and the county archives service located across the Tyne and Wear area of north-east England. They have been administered by a joint board of local author ...

, Newcastle Science City, Newcastle University,

Newcastle City Council Newcastle City Council is the local government authority for the city and metropolitan borough of Newcastle upon Tyne. The council consists of 78 councillors, three for each of the 26 wards in the city. It is currently controlled by the Labou ...

and culture10 as part of NewcastleGateshead’s world-class programme of festivals and events.

Relaunch

In 2009, the festival was re-launched with a new brand identity and website. There were three key strands of the programme catering for three different audiences; families, adults and schools. It included two family weekend events (7/8 & 14/15 March) and a series of adult events (lectures/science fiction/performances) during the week, as well as activities specifically for schools. The highlight of the week was the first Maker Faire event in the UK, which was held at the

and

Discovery Museum The Discovery Museum is a science museum and local history museum situated in Blandford Square in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It displays many exhibits of local history, including the ship, '' Turbinia''. It is managed by Tyne & Wear Archives ...

on the 14 and 15 March. Although there was no overarching theme for 2009, some events integrated with the national agenda. For example, to celebrate

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended ...

's 200th birthday, the festival commissioned the Darwin Brewery in Sunderland to develop a commemorative beer called

Natural Selection Natural selection is the differential survival and reproduction of individuals due to differences in phenotype. It is a key mechanism of evolution, the change in the heritable traits characteristic of a population over generations. Cha ...

which was available throughout March. In 2010, ScienceFest saw the return of Maker Faire – an event for DIY technology and craft, ScienceFest After Dark – a series of late night, adult only events and events specially focussed on developing science literacy skills. Headline makers included the world’s fastest Rubik’s cube solving robot, Power Tool Drag Racing and the UK’s most advanced musical tesla coil. Newcastle Science Festival 2010 was attended by 51,000 people, including families, adults and children, across 120 events at 23 locations over a 10-day period. This represents an increase from 2009 where 48,500 people attended the event over a similar 10-day period.

References

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External links

Newcastle ScienceFest
Science festivals Science and technology in Tyne and Wear Festivals in Tyne and Wear Science events in the United Kingdom