STEM: That’s Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths – but you knew that, of course!
A team of employees from Edinburgh electronics company Leonardo (better known to us old-timers as Ferranti’s!) are planting a ‘STEM’ seed that could lead to improved career prospects for Craigroyston Community High School pupils. Continue reading Planting the STEM seed at Craigie
Saltire Society unveils 80th anniversary programme
A £50,000 ‘Inspiring Scotland’ funding programme for emerging Scottish talent and Scotland’s first ever online literary festival are just two of the eye-catching initiatives revealed today as part of a busy programme of activities to mark the Saltire Society’s 80th anniversary year. Continue reading A year to celebrate
The Edinburgh International Science Festival today announced the programme for Spring 2015.
The Festival, which will bring together hundreds of events, activities and exhibitions to celebrate science, will take place over Saturday 19 March – Sunday 4 April taking in the Easter school break.
This year, the Festival aims to transform into ‘The Ideas Factory’ – a hub of information, ideas and innovation. Some of the events taking place include:
The City of Edinburgh Council is a major funding partner of the Festival. Councillor Steve Cardownie, Festivals and Events Champion for the city, commented: “The Edinburgh International Science Festival is always a key highlight in the Spring calendar for both local Edinburgh residents and visitors to the city.
“Anyone visiting the Festival is in for a treat as this year’s programme is as jam-packed as ever. The Council’s City Art Centre will once again be transformed into a place of pioneering science and magic, and there will be a host of events and activities on offer for families.
“Every year the festival also features lectures from world-leading scientists and speakers, and a highlight for 2015 will be an insight from Professor Peter Higgs who was a recipient of the Edinburgh Award for his influence on the city.”
Full details of the 2015 programme can be found at sciencefestival.co.uk.
Tickets for all events can be booked online via the website or through the Box Office on 0844 557 2686.
‘An interest in science at an early age can last a lifetime’ – Dr Stephen Breslin, Glasgow Science Centre
More than 3 million people have visited Scotland’s science centres in the last five years, Science Minister Alistair Allan announced yesterday as he committed £2.75 million for the coming year. Dr Allan made his announcement on the eve of the programme launch for this year’s Edinburgh International Science Festival.
The Minister announced increased funding in 2015-16 for all four Scottish centres – Satrosphere in Aberdeen, Dundee Science Centre, Glasgow Science Centre and Edinburgh’s Our Dynamic Earth.
More than 658,000 people visited the centres in 2014, an increase of 12.6% compared to 2010‘s visitor numbers.
Highlights in the past 12 months included the opening of Scotland’s Time Lords galleries at Our Dynamic Earth and the Ice Station Antarctica exhibition, which travelled to Dundee from the Natural History Museum in London.
Speaking after a visit to Glasgow Science Centre yesterday (above), Dr Allan said: “I am absolutely delighted that the many new activities, exhibits and revamped galleries have delivered a great year for our science centres and continued to build up visitor numbers.
“This increase is a tribute to the staff and their efforts to encourage more people of all ages to visit the centres. Our schools will always encourage children enjoy the science they are learning, but there is so much more that families and adults can experience at the science centres with engaging exhibitions and events that stimulate debate and discussion around science.
“This year Scotland has a key role to play in the international celebrations for Year of Light 2015 as one of our finest physicists James Clerk Maxwell is remembered. This means that there are even more events on offer and I would urge all parents, young people and everyone with a spark of curiosity to look and see what is taking place near them and get involved.”
New attractions planned this year include a major new exhibition Powering the Future that will open in Glasgow in the Autumn and an exhibition at Our Dynamic Earth on the work of CERN and its Large Hadron Collider.
Our Dynamic Earth’s Chief Executive, John Simpson, said: “We are thrilled to hear that funding for Scotland’s science centres has been confirmed by the Scottish Government for the year 2015-16. This will allow us to expand and deliver events which engage with local Community Groups and Schools across Scotland who would otherwise be unable to come to the Centre. In addition to our Charity Golden Ticket, which gives free access to Dynamic Earth for 25 Lothians based charities, the scheme has now been extended to include five local primary and secondary schools.
“Looking to the year ahead, Dynamic Earth will be bringing new films to Scotland’s only fully digital 360° planetarium cinema, hosting a dynamic exhibition on the work of scientists in Cern using the Large Hadron Collider, introducing visitors to new, as yet un-tamed, arrivals in our Rainforest, and allowing guests to race against our very own dinosaur to find out if they will become a winner or dinner!
“Our ability to make such investments and to be able to engage with young and old on the wonders of our Planet in such a way is only possible thanks to the ongoing support of Scottish Government.”
Dr Stephen Breslin, Chief Executive of Glasgow Science Centre, said: “An interest in science from an early age can last a lifetime, and this funding will help us to bring science to life in an interactive way through our education programme. We want to inspire our young people to be excited and stimulated by the opportunities that science offers and for them to study and achieve qualifications in science, technology, engineering and maths in the future.
“We are excited about the year ahead and the enhancements we will make to our visitors’ experience through redeveloping exhibition spaces in the Science Mall, creating new education and public programme and working with our partners from academia and industry. We are thankful to The Scottish Government for supporting our mission and helping us to promote science and technology through thought-provoking and exciting experiences.”
The funding package announced today includes revenue funding of £2,500,000 plus £250,000 to support school visits and community engagement. They will receive:
Satrosphere, Aberdeen £250,150 (up from £226,010 last year)
Dundee Science Centre £340,800 (up from £312,220 last year)
Our Dynamic Earth, Edinburgh £926,350 (up from £869,090 last year)
Glasgow Science Centre £982,700 (up from £922,680 last year)
Edinburgh’s Science Festival programme is launched today. Go to http://www.sciencefestival.co.uk/
Professor Sue Black, Sir Chris Hoy and Dr Ann Matheson honoured for their contribution to Scottish culture
Leading international scientist Professor Sue Black, Olympic cyclist Sir Chris Hoy and celebrated Academic Dr Ann Matheson have been named as this year’s winners of the Andrew Fletcher of Saltoun Award.
Established in 1988, the award forms part of the Saltire Society’s annual awards programme, which recognises and celebrates Scottish culture and heritage. It celebrates the legacy of Andrew Fletcher of Saltoun, often remembered as one of Scotland’s true patriots, by recognising significant contributions made to Scottish culture.
Previous recipients include Tom Fleming, Donald Dewar, George Davie, Dolinna MacLennan, Robin Jenkins, George Mackay Brown and in 2013, William McIlvanney.
Nominations for the award are made by the Saltire Society Council who this year decided to broaden the scope to now include three different categories and thus three awards so as to recognise a wider range of achievements and to engage wider public interest. These categories are: Arts and Humanities, Public Life and Science.
The categories for the 2014 Andrew Fletcher of Saltoun Award are:
Arts And Humanities – awarded to Dr Ann Matheson, member of the Board of the Scottish Poetry Library, for her lengthy and continued championing of Scotland’s literary and linguistic culture;
Public Life – awarded to Great Britain’s most successful Olympian and most successful Olympic cyclist of all time, Sir Chris Hoy;
Science – awarded to Professor Sue Black, Director of Dundee University’s Centre for Anatomy and Human Identification.
The ceremony took place at a reception at Edinburgh’s City Chambers on Saturday afternoon where winners were presented with a bespoke award by Convenor of the Saltire Society, David Ward.
Commenting on the Saltire Society Council’s selection Mr Ward said: “As a Council, we are thrilled to have been able to award one of our most prestigious accolades to three undisputable Ambassadors of Scottish culture.
“This year in particular Scotland finds itself in a spotlight on the world’s stage and we felt it appropriate that we should honour as wide a range of achievements as possible in order to truly be able to reflect the rich and varied cultural heritage that Scotland has to offer and that we support.
“2014’s Andrew Fletcher of Saltoun Award recipients do that and more with their remarkable achievements highlighting some modern day examples of Scottish achievement.”
2014 award recipient Professor Sue Black of Dundee University said: “It is both an honour and a privilege to be selected as a recipient for this award, particularly when I see the calibre of fellow recipients past and present. “I would like to pass on my sincere thanks to the Saltire Society Council for electing to bestow this honour on me.”
Commenting on her award, Dr Ann Matheson said: “I am deeply honoured to receive the Fletcher of Saltoun Award from the Saltire Society. It has been a privilege to have had the opportunity to be associated with Scotland’s literary culture, past and present, and with all those who work so steadfastly on its behalf, during an inspiring period in the nation’s history.”
For more information about The Saltire Society go to:
Mark Lazarowicz MP put down a Parliamentary motion, an ‘Early Day Motion’, last week to congratulate Edinburgh’s Professor Peter Higgs on the award of this year’s Nobel Prize for Physics. Among those supporting the North and Leith MP’s motion were fellow Edinburgh MPs Alistair Darling and Mike Crockart.
Professor Peter Higgs, who is now Emeritus Professor of Theoretical Physics at the University of Edinburgh, was awarded the prize in recognition of his theoretical discovery of the origins of mass of the fundamental particles that make up the world. His theoretical work first published in 1964 was confirmed in July 2012 – almost half a century later – by the Hadron Collider based in Switzerland showing just how groundbreaking his work was.
A shy and modest man, Professor Higgs shares the prize with a Belgian physicist,François Englert, who also published on the same subject in the summer of 1964.
Mark Lazarowicz said: “Professor Higgs’ achievement has at last received the long awaited recognition of the award of the Nobel Prize, and as the MP for the constituency where Professor Higgs lives I wanted to make sure that achievement and award was marked by Parliament also.”
Professor Higgs has announced that he will formally retire next year, when he is 85.
The Science Festival may be over, but the search for the innovators of tomorrow has only just begun …
Edinburgh International Science Festival celebrated 25 years of introducing audiences of all ages to innovative and entertaining science this Easter and marked the occasion with a diverse programme of over 200 events. Over 90,000 visitors enjoyed a family programme packed with sensational science together with world-renowned scientists looking forward to the next quarter century and exploring the future of our lives, our cities, our food, our play, our medicine, our challenges and our world.
With the Festival over for this year, the Science Festival continues to look to the future and has now announced Fuselab – an exciting new project looking for the young innovators of tomorrow.
Supported by the Scottish Government’s Edinburgh Festivals Expo Fund, Fuselab is an immersive ‘out of this world’ experience which will take place at Edinburgh’s Summerhall in July 2013. The Science Festival is seeking 80 innovative and creative minds aged between 16 and 20 to plan the future in a hypothetical, as yet uninhabited, world. Fuselab pioneers will be challenged to develop innovative approaches to a sustainable way of life, free from the constraints of the systems and structures currently utilised on here on Earth. In the process, they will learn how to challenge their thinking through workshops, skills sessions, talks and games; collaborating to design, prototype and test ideas.
Applications for Fuselab are now open, and 16 – 20 year old innovators are invited to apply through http://www.sciencefestival.co.uk/whats-on/fuselab before Wednesday 8 May 2013.
Amanda Tyndall, Deputy Director of the Edinburgh International Science Festival, said “We need to equip young people with the skills, networks and confidence not only to survive but to thrive in a rapidly changing world. In helping our Pioneers see how innovation can help build a better future, and to understand the role that they personally might play, Fuselab will do just that – helping unleash the potential of the next generation. “
Scottish Government Minister, Humza Yousaf, said “For a quarter of a century, the Edinburgh International Science Festival has informed, engaged and challenged the minds of visitors from Scotland and around the world, building on our strengths as a creative and innovative nation, from the enlightenment to the Higgs boson. This year’s excellent programme of events was no exception.
“It makes strong economic sense to support the Science Festival’s growth and to ensure that Scotland’s own emerging creative talent is placed at its centre. That is why I am proud to announce £110,000 to support young people to develop their skills and expertise here in Scotland through the Fuselab project. This takes the total Scottish Government Expo Funding awarded to the Science Festival to £562,000 since the Expo Fund began in 2008/09.”
Fuselab participants can draw upon the content of some of the sessions at the 2013 Science Festival for inspiration, which included Professor Dickson Despommier speaking on the future of vertical farming, Bas Lansdorp who invited his audience to apply to be the first new colonists on Mars in 2023, and Professor Mark Post who reported on the progress of his research to use stem cells to grow meat in the laboratory. Three previous winners of the prestigious Edinburgh Medal, Chris Rapley, Colin Blakemore and Jocelyn Bell Burnell looked into the future and explored their dangerous ideas and the future of astronomy while the 25th Edinburgh Medal was awarded jointly, for the first time in its history, to Professor Peter Higgs and CERN.
Dr Simon Gage, Director of the Edinburgh International Science Festival, said “The 25th Science Festival has been packed with world renowned speakers, innovative and exciting science and some ‘out of this world’ ideas. While we may not have found all the answers to the challenges we will face in the next 25 years, we have certainly had great fun exploring our future and some of the solutions that are being proposed, from eating insects and laboratory grown meat, to colonising Mars and personalising our medicine.”
The 25th Edinburgh International Science Festival finished with Scotland’s first Mini Maker Faire held at Summerhall where over 50 makers, enthusiasts, geeks, tinkerers, engineers and artists from across the Scottish maker community and beyond showed off their work to a fascinated audience of over 3,000 people. From cutting edge technologies to time honoured crafts, this family-friendly showcase was the perfect opportunity to converge and celebrate ingenuity, invention and resourcefulness.
The Fuselab programme is a fully immersive four day experience with a maximum of 40 participants per session from the UK and beyond. Fuselab 1 runs from 1 – 5 July, while Fuselab 2 runs from 5 – 9 July and applications for both sessions are open from today, Monday 8 April to May 8. Fuselab is completely free of charge with meals and accommodation provided. To apply visit: http://www.sciencefestival.co.uk/whats-on/fuselab
The 2014 Edinburgh International Science Festival will run from Saturday 5 to Sunday 20 April. Full details of the programme will be announced in February 2014 and details can be found at www.sciencefestival.co.uk.
