Academics from Chemistry, Engineering, Physics and LEC brought a range of exciting and interactive exhibits to the public at the Windermere Jetty Museum’s annual Science Festival.

The two-day festival took place on 10^th-11^th May throughout the museum grounds, and welcomed a large contingent of Lancaster University academic staff to showcase their research to families from the North West and beyond. From within the Faculty of Science and Technology, Dr John Hardy from the Chemistry Department and Dr Ben Surridge of LEC contributed “The Plastic Detectives”, which saw young children scavenging plastic from their homes and their local area for the scientists to analyse and identify – all in the name of potentially earning them their Green Blue Peter badge.

Dr Andrew Parker from Engineering, meanwhile, taught younger visitors about the relative energy of different colours of light with his fun “Lightsaber in a Jar” activity, which allowed participants to make their very own miniature lightsaber in a test tube to take home. Dr Phil Donkersley (aka Dr Bees) of LEC also brought along a display of live bumblebees in order to educate the public about the importance of these pollinators, as well as showcase his BeeBox, an innovative new home for ground-nesting bumblebees. Finally, Professor Jim Wild from the Physics Department visited the Festival on the Sunday afternoon to deliver an hour-long talk on the Aurora in Windermere, and why the past couple of years have seen such spectacular displays from this natural phenomenon.

In addition to those displaying from within the Faculty, the Festival also welcomed a Biological and Life Sciences exhibit on strawberry DNA, a VR Aurora experience (delivered by Lancaster’s Innovation Hub), and the ever-popular Shadowplay, based in LICA. The weekend was well-attended by the public, with the museum welcoming upwards of 1000 visitors to the event who were keen to learn more about the scientific research that is undertaken at Lancaster – as well as have a go at the museum’s Jedi fighting school and undertake a canoe safari across the lake itself.

Organiser of the event, Nick Greenall, remarked on Lancaster’s presence: “It was fantastic to work with Lancaster University , who brought a wide range of scientific expertise to our festival. Public engagement with science is so important and helps people understand the benefits of what scientists do.”

On the success of the event, Dr Phil Donkersley commented: “Windermere Science Festival was a fantastic opportunity to get out of the lab and talk with the public about the plight of bumblebees. By sharing my love of bumblebees and giving people the chance to actually see them going about their lives, the Festival gave the people who came along a chance to properly connect with nature in a new way. I've always felt connectivity with nature, through unique experiences, is the best way to get the public on board with insect conservation. Windermere Science Festival gave us a special chance to engage with the public, and I hope the people who came to see BeeBox will remember it for a long time in the future.”

Dr Andrew Parker added: “The Windermere Science Festival was a fantastic event. There was a great enthusiasm for all the exhibits and talks, with my highlight being the interest the public showed in my activity. I engaged with some impressively knowledgeable kids (as well as grown-ups!), who had great questions and insights. I would love to go back next year and encourage anyone to find out more about the opportunity.”

Dr John Hardy also commented: “I enjoyed Windermere Science Festival as it offered an opportunity to discuss aspects of science (plastic production, analysis and environmental fate) with members of the public from a broad spectrum of ages from 2 to 90 years old.”