About Oxfordshire Science Festival 2011

OSF 2011 was kicked off with a giant science filled market place in Bonn Square on 26 February 2011. Approx. 5000 people had a go at our activities and we got great feedback! It seems people really love to drop in for a spot of science on a Saturday morning!

Following the launch we ran 120 events across Oxfordshire and neighboring counties, attracting approx. 30000 participants from as far afield as Japan!

Download the Oxfordshire Science Festival 2011 Brochure.

About Oxfordshire Science Festival 2010

Continuing the success of the 2009 Oxfordshire Science Festival (OSF), OSF 2010 attracted more than 23789 people across the 102 events that composed the festival. This is another 100% increase on both number of participants and number of events making the Oxfordshire Science Festival the fastest growing science festival in the country.

Within the 10 months leading up to the festival £38,945.00 in grant funding and sponsorship was raised, a substantial part of this was from Wellcome Trust People Award, with other grants from the University of Oxford and the Oxfordshire County Council Grassroots Grants. This funding resulted in a larger and higher impact launch event attracting approximately 5000 people and an event to improve corporate and investor support for the festival.

OSF 2010 was launched with “Science In Your World” on 6 March 2010 in Broad Street. Building on the theme and vision of SIYW 2009, this event aims to show a largely new audience how science impacts on everyday life. By adopting a “no-barriers” approach this event is designed to encourage maximum participation from people who would not normally choose to attend a science event. The event received 97% positive feedback and 80% of the participants were new to the festival. There was a 10% increase in ethnic diversity with 21% of participants from non-white groups, improved age diversity on 2009 and a 5% increase on repeat visitors.

OSF featured in TV, radio and print and was advertised through the county-wide distribution of 20000 brochures, plus brochures in every primary and secondary school in Oxfordshire and neighbouring counties. The website usage doubled on 2009 with over 8000 visitors during February and March. The availability of electronic feedback resulted in a 1% increase in response rate.

About Oxfordshire Science Festival 2009

The 2009 Oxfordshire Science Festival was the first official, coordinated festival with events including:

• WowHow? - which has been attracting people in their thousands for many years to the Natural History Museum
• Lincoln and Darwin Live! - a theatre piece starring Lincoln and Darwin, revived for one night only to talk about how their theories impact on contemporary issues
• Brooke's Science Bazaar - workshops, talks and activities brought to you by the staff and students of Oxford Brooke's on topics as varied as fitness, DNA, nutrition, computer games and much more
• 5-a-day DNA - where you could find out how to extract DNA from fruit and vegies using things you already have at home!

People from as far as Denmark came to Oxfordshire to participate in science events during Oxfordshire Science Festival 2009, from making slime to debating particle physics. We had 50 events located right across Oxfordshire and an astounding 12540 people participated in these events. Adults, children, families and teenagers found something to enjoy, to challenge them, to stimulate their interest and to get messy doing experiments!

View the 2009 Oxfordshire Science Festival evaluation report and download the 2009 event brochure.

About Oxfordshire Science Week 2008

The 2008 Oxfordshire Science Week events included:

• Wow! How? An interactive day for the family at the Natural History Museum
• Oxford University Science Roadshow that visits schools across the county
• Honey bees and bee keeping, engineering and sport and hands on at Science Oxford
• Transatlantic poetry slam by Hammer and Tongue
• Café Scientifique

Plus events on Punk Science, astrophysics, engineering and nature!

Oxfordshire Science Week 2008 saw 28 events run across the county from debates to hands on activities. Over 6000 people participated in the various events with more than 90% of participants stating that they enjoyed the events they attended.

A very diverse range of people participated in the Oxford Science Week 2008. There were events appropriate for different ages and people from all backgrounds were encouraged to join in the fun. Full details of the events held in 2008 are available in the 2008 brochure for Oxfordshire Science Week.