A warning has gone out to the residents of Buxton… This summer, they’ll be invaded by giant tortoises, hovering sausages, Daleks, Dr Who’s TARDIS, and even one of TV’s original, best-loved scientists and mathematicians, Johnny Ball!
They’re all part of a major new festival - Science in the Peak, coming to the University of Derby, Buxton for 5 days from 30 June 2009, which is supported by East Midlands Development Agency (emda), Derbyshire County Council and the Institute of Physics Midlands.
Science in the Peak is an exciting event for young people, which combines a fun-packed programme of popular science, technology, engineering and maths activities with interactive exhibitions and talks from leading scientists.
One of the major highlights at the event is Darwin Today, an interactive exhibition celebrating the 200th anniversary of Darwin’s birth, which looks at how we still use his ideas – from designing robots to meeting a giant tortoise and exploring the origin of the species. And this is just the tip of the iceberg! They’ll also be able to find out how to build a time machine, see medieval machines and bone bonanzas, have a go in a giant gyroscope and much, much more!
Andrew Morgan, emda’s Skills and Communities Director, says: “emda’s investment in this festival will give a huge boost to the Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) agenda. Science in the Peak is a unique opportunity for young people to get involved in science outside the classroom, fuelling their imagination, and making STEM study and careers an exciting option for their future.”
Dianne Campbell, from SciTec, the co-ordinators of the event explains, “This event is a great, fun way for young people to find out about the variety of careers and study alternatives open to them in the areas of science, technology, engineering and maths. We are expecting over 4500 to attend during the first four days of the festival, which will be open to secondary schools from Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. The final day - Saturday 4 July - will see the Festival opened to the public in a free Science Fun Day, so we’re encouraging young people to come back and bring their families! We look forward to welcoming everyone to this unique and exciting event!”
Science in the Peak will take place from Tuesday 30 June to Saturday 4 July 2009, and is being co-ordinated by SciTec, part of Derbyshire Education Business Partnership (DEBP) – the organisation that sets up and maintains links between local employers and schools.
For more information please call 01773 571 590 or log on to http://www.debp.co.uk/