British Science Festival 2019 comes to campus and Coventry City Centre

This year’s British Science Festival will be held at a selection of venues across Coventry, including the University of Warwick, from 10-13 September.

The festival, held annually with its origins tracing back to 1831, sees over 15,000 attendees at 100 talks, debates, performances and activities at different host cities. Tickets are free off charge.

This year’s event is hosted in partnership with the University and will commence in Coventry’s FarGo Village with a range of free activities, from holograms to mind-reading technology, and a mud-kitchen for adults.

Supported by a number of industry leaders including Jaguar Land Rover, Vodafone Gigafast Broadband and CityFibre, the festival will also take place in other venues such as Coventry Cathedral. In The Botanist, based in the city centre, there will be a variety of drop-ins with live music and refreshments available.

Angela Saini, journalist and author of Inferior: How Science Got Women Wrong, will give a talk on the first night at St Mary’s Guildhall about bias within scientific research and the misuse of science to meet political motives.

Celebrity chef Jack Monroe will join festival guests at Coventry Cathedral on Wednesday to discuss how cities like Coventry are combating food poverty.

We hope that our friends and neighbours in the city will find plenty to enjoy amongst these evening events that are taking place right on their doorstep

– Jane Furze

On Thursday evening, sci-fi playwrights Thomas Eccleshare, Ella Road and Jon Spooner will examine how theatre plays a significant role in catalysing conversations about the future treatment of science and technology by society. Their talk will be followed by a comedic sci-fi play, Signals.

Jane Furze, director of public engagement at the University of Warwick, said: “Not only will our campus be buzzing with talks, demonstrations and activities all week during the British Science Festival, Coventry city centre will also play host at a range of fantastic venues and locations and we hope that our friends and neighbours in the city will find plenty to enjoy amongst these evening events that are taking place right on their doorstep.”

The day after the British Science Festival, a Family Day will be held on campus at the University of Warwick aimed at families with children from eleven upwards, where stalls, workshops and talks by popular figures will take place.