The Glasgow Science Festival has launched its biggest-ever programme of events as part of the city’s ongoing celebrations of its 850^th anniversary.

The 19^th annual Festival will stage events for science enthusiasts of all ages across the city between Thursday 5^th June and Sunday 15^th June.

This year’s events are united by the theme ‘Glasgow Celebrates’, which recognises the 850 years which have passed since the city received the status of Burgh in 1175.

Researchers from the city’s universities and beyond are set to join artists and musicians, and representatives from leading charities to welcome audiences to iconic locations including the Botanic Gardens, the Riverside Museum, and Kelvingrove Museum. Glasgow Caledonian University, the University of the West of Scotland, and the Universities of Glasgow and Strathclyde will also host events on their campuses.

Glasgow’s 33 libraries will play a part in this year’s programme, with displays of STEM-related books planned for the duration of the festival. The Smart Play Network’s PlayTalkRead bus will also bring science-focused fun aimed at children up to four years old to five libraries across the city.

The University’s Mazumdar-Shaw Advanced Research Centre (ARC) will host three special themed evenings exploring ‘The Art of Science’, ‘The Sound of Science’ and ‘A Body of Science.’ Each evening will bring science to life with live music, virtual reality displays, hands-on demonstrations, and more.

The Festival’s online Science on the Sofa programme, established during covid lockdowns when in-person events were not possible, also returns with a collection of videos and activities which can be enjoyed from home.

Dr Deborah McNeill, of the University of Glasgow, is director of the Glasgow Science Festival. She said: “This year’s programme is our most jam-packed ever, expanding to new venues and bringing in a widened range of events, shows and presentations.

“We have more than 75 events in the programme, including film screenings, stand-up comedy, music shows and tours of the city. Our ever-popular activity days are returning to the Glasgow Botanic Gardens and the Riverside and Kelvingrove Museums, featuring hundreds of hands-on activities and demos from researchers, who will be on hand to chat about their work. We’ll also be going on the road to bring science to more people, with appearances at the Govan Fair and activities with local schools.

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“We’re excited to be joining people across the city to celebrate both our scientific present and the city’s historic past during this 850^th anniversary year.”

The festival’s theme is reflected in a series of events which take inspiration from the city’s historic coat of arms and the well-known poem which often accompanies it: “Here is the tree that never grew / Here is the bird that never flew / Here is the fish that never swam / Here is the bell that never rang.”

• Trees: On June 13^th at the University of Glasgow’s Clarice Pears Building, visitors can enjoy a Eritrean Coffee Ceremony, sharing stories and freshly brewed coffee with members of the UNESCO chair. On 15^th June in Victoria Park’s Fossil Grove, the Fossil Grove Trust and The Geological Society of Glasgow will help visitors explore an ancient forest and learn about their past.
• Birds: On both weekends, visitors can meet the family of Peregrine Falcons that have made the University of Glasgow their home, viewing these magnificent birds of prey through telescopes while learning from experts at RSPB Scotland. Bird ringing demonstrations will also take place both on the University of Glasgow campus and at the Claypits Local Nature Reserve, showing how researchers tag and track birds to monitor urban wildlife populations.
• Fish: The ARC will play host to fish-themed screenings of the movies ‘Song of the Sea’ and ‘The Life Aquatic’ on 13^th June. On 14^th June at the Hunterian Museum’s Family Day visitors can meet the prehistoric Bearsden shark.
• Bell (sound): Delve into the Science of Sound at the ARC on 10^th June with Patterns, live piano compositions accompanied by kaleidoscopic images. On 15^th June, the ‘Dear Green Music Scene’ mini-music festival will host two stages of sustainably-powered performance, with performances from grassroots musicians and clean energy discussions with researchers from the University of Glasgow.

The festival’s popular activity days are set to return to city locations with dozens of family-focused events, many linked to the festival theme. At the Riverside Museum, from 5^th to 15^th June, visitors can see sound waves with slinkies, control robots, and even witness sound waves being used to levitate objects, courtesy of scientists from the University of Strathclyde.

At the Glasgow Botanic Gardens from 6th to 15th June, visitors can enjoy an introduction to planting with the Friends of the Glasgow Botanic Gardens, listen to their blood flow with scientists from Glasgow Caledonian University, discover fish personalities with ‘Fishing for Answers’ and see how birds fly with ‘Let Science Flourish’, both with University of Glasgow researchers.

On 7^th and 8^th June, the Kelvingrove Museum will host ‘Tree of Life’ and ‘Music in Parks’ from researchers at the Open University.