Science

Programme highlights at the Edinburgh International Science Festival 2013

The 2013 fest isn't just for kids, although slime creation and balloon modelling do feature

Not to be outdone by its ever-expanding August cousin, the Fringe, the Edinburgh International Science Festival is growing bigger each year. Nowhere is this more apparent than at the City Art Centre, where 100 drop-in workshops will be taking place each…

The grossest events at the Edinburgh International Science Festival 2013

Delight your kids with the smelliest, gooiest, messiest events from this year's programme

Getting kids interested in educational activities is not the easiest task in the world, but we’ve found it helps if you make things sound as gross as possible. The boffins at the Science Festival know this too, and have created five events designed to…

The science of creation: Scotland's sightseeing spoils

Dolly the Sheep, Falkirk Wheel and Forth Rail Bridge amongst the highlights

The word ‘creative’ doesn’t often conjure up a vision of science and technology, but Scotland has long been renowned for innovative ideas and what better year to shout about it than in the Year of Creative Scotland. Who created the world’s first…

Edinburgh International Science Festival 2012 - highlights

Derren Brown and giant eyes among the top events at this year's EISF

Illusions, experiments, fire-walking and food are just some of the treats in store at this year’s Edinburgh International Science Festival. With events in more venues than ever before, 2012’s programme welcomes scientists, comedians, psychologists…

Design and Democracy exhibition - Free Family Weekend to mark St Andrew's Day

Free events include building your own rocket and radio-controlled car

Design affects the lives of all of us. Whether it’s an intuitive new phone, a car that tells us we’ve left the lights on, or the Kindle doing something nobody expected and actually improving on the design of a book, who of us have not had our lives…

TED Global 2011 talks set for Edinburgh

Alain de Botton, Niall Ferguson and Robin Ince deliver talks in Scotland's capital

A slew of artists, musicians, scientists, architects, historians, filmmakers, actresses and many more will descend on the capital this July, as part of a four-day programme devoted to ‘Ideas Worth Spreading’. Helmed by non-profit organisation TED, the…

Robots Live! brings Robot Wars and a robotic football squad to Edinburgh

Robot Wars and football-playing robots at the National Museum of Flight

It’s difficult to talk about the appeal of robots. How do you talk about the appeal of something as universally loved. What’s not to love about robots? Since technology first enabled humans to build machines that could to programmed to perform…

Glasgow Science Festival programme appeals to both children and adults

Opportunities to do some gardening, bread-making and seabird tracking

For some parents, it’s always been fascinating, for others it was the worst block at school. But one thing’s for sure, these days the world of science offers more fun and creativity than you can shake a pipette at. With four action-packed family days on…

The best Easter 2011 events in Glasgow and Edinburgh

Easter egg hunts, beaches, boat trips and activities for Easter weekend

Beach Babies Scotland is scattered with some of the most peaceful and well-kept beaches in the UK. In particular, North Berwick on the east coast is a famously picturesque seaside town, complete with miles of sand, cobbled streets full of friendly cafés…

The National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh

Newly renovated NMS showcases Scottish achievements

A country with as many scientists, inventors and explorers as Scotland needs a place to show off all its achievements – and nowhere does the job better than the newly renovated National Museum

Your Days Are Numbered

Somehow making maths funny

It’s hard to believe that travel and science journalist Timandra Harkness once had a Princess Diana joke banned by Carlton TV. Alongside stand-up mathematician Matt Parker, the mood of this show is light and fluffy, even if it is chiefly covering the…

Dance Doctor Dance

Joining in with the lord of the dance

As the lights go up on PowerPoint equipment and a bespectacled, middle-aged man announcing himself as a reader in psychology at the University of Hertfordshire, you fear you’re in for a lecture rather than an hour of Fringe fun. But twinkle-toed Dr…

After Dolly: Where Do You Draw the Line?

It’s been 13 years since Edinburgh-based scientists successfully cloned a sheep, and as the first man-made life forms blubber onto the planet, scientists from Edinburgh’s Roslin Institute, where Dolly the Sheep was created, get together with their…

Edinburgh International Science Festival

Science is neither just for school kids, nor for stuffy academics – at least that’s the message at this year’s annual Edinburgh science jamboree. The festival is seeking to rouse the interest of people in their late teens and early 20s, as well as the…

Premier of BBC’s World of Wonder series among highlights of Edinburgh Science Festival Film strand

The film strand of the Edinburgh’s Science Festival taking place between the 3-17 April includes preview screenings of the BBC’s new World of Wonder series films, American documentary Blast! – a giddy journey in to the complex world of astrophysics and…

Social Science at Glasgow Science Centre

Let’s get physics, y'all!

There are certain ‘childish’ ways of being that we’re encouraged to leave behind when we grow up. Throwing tantrums in the street, for example, or scratching yourself there in public. Unfortunately, just simply playing, and indulging a wide-eyed sense…

Chris Packham - Wild thing

Chris Packham recently suggested that we should just let the giant panda die out. As he comes to Glasgow, Kirstin Innes talks to the controversial conservationist.

The Weatherman

The inclement Scottish weather can be responsible for many things, most of them negative, so it’s nice to see that excessive rainfall can occasionally lead to some good. Moving to Glasgow from Dublin, musician Dave Boyd was immediately struck by how wet…

Doctor Austin and Doug Safety's Time-Tastical Time Tale

It’s science Jim, but not as we know it

Time travel is a gift to fiction writers, but when it comes to the facts, even Doctor Who had to resort to describing it as ‘a big ball of wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff’. Dr Austin and Doug Safety have set themselves a hard task. Starting with…

Visualise Reloaded

There are an awful lot of confusingly big words in the world of science – which is why these guys don’t use any at all. Instead, Science Made Simple blend physical theatre with live science demonstrations, projected images and music to create a…

Minibeast Safari & A Wander With Bugs and Butterflies

Ugly Bug Ball

If you’re already bored of staring at comedians, why not spend a little time investigating a very different kind of wild and unpredictable beastie? Summer is excellent bug-spotting time, as both Cammo Visitor Centre, who are offering A Wander With Bugs…

Doctor Austin and Doug Safety's Time-Tastical Time Tale and Visualise: Reloaded

Time travel, techno-clowns and Darwin: science theatre for everyone

Whether it’s cryogenics or time travel, Darwin or the speed of light, one thing the Fringe seldom lacks is imagination. Always on hand to entertain all ages, this year’s Festival looks set to engage and inspire with an array of science-related shows for…

Best of the Rest - Politics

Political highlights at the Edinburgh Festivals

Highlights include Annie Lennox and the SING campaign, From Darwin to Dolly: And Beyond, A Life in Politics: Dennis Canavan, Devolution and the Arts, Young Peoples Question Time, Burns' Radical Voice and Love But Her

Walking with Dinosaurs

Despite none of us really knowing what it was like when dinosaurs ruled the earth, the BBC made a fine attempt at recreating it a few years back. Walking with Dinosaurs took nature documentaries to a whole new level, using scientific research and…

Simon Gage’s head did not explode at the Science Festival launch

1000 people came to this 21st birthday party and enjoyed an evening competing with their children to enjoy the 7 floor of activities and exhibitions. The party was launched by the Science Festival Director, Simon Gage, who stepped forward to correctly…