Bright sparks will learn from appliance of science at festival

The Bradford Science Festival is taking place for the second year running with a programme of events ranging from the science of fireworks to live tattooing.

Organisers say they hope to turn the city into a hub for science, technology, engineering and maths businesses and raise awareness among young people about the career opportunities in the sector.

The festival will also bring the subject to life by using popular culture to show science at work.

This year’s sessions include Fifty Shades of Science and Body of Work – the Science behind Body Modification.

Magical science is also one of the key themes, with Ian Dunn’s workshop of tricks and illusions and the Cinemagic interactive show on special effects and optical illusions in the world of film, which is being hosted at the National Media Museum.

The Children’s Programme is expected to attract around 3,000 pupils from across Yorkshire and beyond. It includes Magical Science, The Science of Fireworks and CSI: Crimescene Challenge.

Visitors to the event can also help to create one of the main attractions which will be a Strandbeest – a massive skeletal monster put together by the public which then moves around in the wind.

Another key message organisers are keen to get across is that art and science are not entirely different things.

The festival will take place from Wednesday, October 16 to Friday, October 18, with events centred on Centenary Square in the heart of the city and at the nearby Bradford University campus.

There will also be a special family day, sponsored by British Gas from 10am to 4pm on Saturday, October 19.

Centenary Square will host events including circus science and a special Cottingley Fairies workshop.

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