Nottingham Festival of Science and Curiosity returns for 2023

The festival will be running from February 6-17 and this year’s programme promises to be the biggest yet.

The first week of the festival sees researchers taking science out of the labs and into schools, giving pupils the opportunity to explore a range of STEM topics through interactive workshops, as well as activities and talks about careers in science from local industry partners.

The second week takes place during the school half-term and brings science out into the community with a host of exciting live shows, science fun days and a wide range of hands-on activities delivered by local researchers in libraries, museums and community spaces across the city and county.

Highlights from this year’s festival include the Ministry of Science Live at Newark Palace Theatre, Slimey Science at Green’s Windmill and Science Centre, Maths Madness at Nonsuch Studios, The Secret Science Show at Wollaton Hall and Sensory Nature Walks at Bennerley Viaduct.

The free festival magazine is also back, created by researchers and designed by students from Confetti Institute of Creative Technologies, featuring a range of fun activities for all the family.

Megan Shore, festival producer, said: “We’re delighted to bring the festival back for its eighth year and this year’s programme is going to be bigger than ever.

“We’ve put together a brilliant line-up of events and hands-on activities from live shows to robot building, the science behind chocolate to an inflatable planetarium and much more.

“With the increased cost-of-living putting pressure on many families, it has been really important for us to ensure we continue to deliver high-quality, fun educational events at little or no cost to families during the half-term break.

“The majority of our events are free for families to enjoy and we hope they will be inspired by our exciting programme this year.”

The Nottingham Festival of Science and Curiosity is produced by local education charity Ignite!, with support from a range of festival network organisations.

This year’s festival is delivered in partnership with University of Nottingham and Nottingham Trent University; Ashfield, Bassetlaw, Gedling, Mansfield, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, Newark & Sherwood and Rushcliffe councils; businesses Boots, Catalent, Sygnature Discovery and Quotient Sciences; and the local enterprise partnership D2N2.

For more information including detailed event listings, visit nottsfosac.co.uk and follow the Festival on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter @NottsFOSAC #FOSAC23 #CuriousNotts