Cheltenham Sceince Festival was first held in 2002 and it has become one of the best science festivals in the UK.
In 2004 Lord Robert Winston became the first Guest Director of the Science Festival. The role was taken up by Lord David Puttnam in 2005. The 5 day festival features engaging in entertaining, challenging and controversial issues and experiences with famous speakers such as Adam Hart-Davis, Robert Winston and Susan Greenfield.
Since 2002 Cheltenham Science Festival has sold over 50,000 tickets to 400 events. There is also a free interactive science space – the Discover Zone, as well as free events in the Science Cafe.
The Science Festival 2006 was one of the biggest and best yet with over 14,000 tickets sold. As well as showcasing some of Britain’s brightest stars Cheltenham Science Festival continues to nurture the freshest faces in science. Next scientific star can be found in Famelab. During the week would-be explorers joined the team from Rough Science in the ExperiTent and explored the joys of the scientific world.
The Festival theme for 2007 was ‘Extremes’ and examined the limits and boundaries of science; now and in the future. The esteemed green thinker Jonathan Porritt was Guest Director of the Festival and had programmed an exciting and challenging look at environmental issues.
2008 Cheltenham Science Festival unsettled minds with a choice of taboo topic, such as our planet’s overpopulation, boundaries between scientific evidence and political correctness, medical history of vibrators, and many more mind bending discussions. 2008 Guest Director of Cheltenham Festival was Nick Ross, journalist, broadcaster and former presenter of BBC Crimewatch.
The guest director of Cheltenham Science Festival for 2009 is Carol Vorderman and she will be putting together a unique collection of events for you to savour. To stir up a good discussion, the festival theme for 2009 is heresy. 2009 is also 200th Anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin which is also reflected in this year’s festival events schedule. 2009 is the International Year of Astronomy, marking 400 years since Galileo first pointed his telescope at the sky.
In person at the Town Hall, or by telephone on 01242 227979. To book by post please address your booking forms to the The Science Festival Box Office at the Town Hall address and supply s. a. e. or £1 postage if you wish your tickets to be posted to you. You can also book online at www.cheltenhamfestivals.com
