Orkney International Science Festival

The Orkney International Science Festival is a science festival which takes place every September in Kirkwall, Orkney Islands, Scotland and has been running since 1991.

Orkney International Science Festival
GenreScience festival
FrequencyAnnual
Location(s)Kirkwall, Orkney Islands, Scotland
Inaugurated1991

History

The first Orkney International Science Festival took place in 1991, the world's second science festival. It takes place in September each year,[1] generally at Kirkwall.[2]

2013 Festival

The 2014 Orkney International Science Festival was opened by documentary film-maker Alan Ereira, and featured over 50 events on topics of astronomy, archaeology, the Arctic, the science of a lost city, Vikings, the search for a lost undersea world, ancient catastrophes on Earth, and supermassive black holes. Speakers included astronomer and author Prof. Bill Napier of Buckingham University, Prof. Bonnie A. Steves of Glasgow Caledonian University, and archaeologist Dr. Cathy Batt from Bradford University.[3]

2014 Festival

The 2014 festival was opened by the former chief scientist of the Discovery Channel, Professor Steve ‘Jake’ Jacobs.[4] Topics of the festival ranged from the origin of life in space, to clues from genetics to the people of the Viking Age.[5]

2015 Festival

2015 marks the 25th festival. In 2015, the "International Year of Light" will be a theme of the festival, featuring a conversation with Nobel Prizewinner Peter Higgs, and with highlights including the Higgs boson, Einstein's universe, Maxwell's waves, exploring Mars and Venus, our changing weather, and cracking the cancer code.[6]

2017 Festival

The 2017 festival took place in Ophir church, opened by Christopher Somerville, a travel writer.[2]

2018 Festival

The 28th festival included Paul Nurse and Peter Higgs as key speakers. It covered hydrogen fuel technology for transport, the Shackleton–Rowett Expedition of Antarctic's seas and topics such as particle physics and black holes.[7]

Notes and references
  1. "Background – Orkney International Science Festival". Orkney International Science Festival. oisf.org. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  2. "Orkney International Science Festival officially underway". The Orcadian. 7 September 2017. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  3. "Astronomy, archaeology and arctic for 2013 Science Festival" Archived 6 August 2015 at the Wayback Machine, The Orcadian, 25 July 2013 (retrieved 3 August 2015)
  4. Discovery Channel scientist to open Orkney Science Festival Archived 6 August 2015 at the Wayback Machine, The Orcadian, 4 September 2014 (retrieved 3 August 2015)
  5. Orkney International Science Festival, Programme 2014 (retrieved 3 August 2015)
  6. Orkney International Science Festival, Programme 2015 (retrieved 3 August 2015)
  7. Firth, Howie (23 July 2018). "Orkney Science Festival announces programme". Frontiers. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
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