A POPULAR science festival celebrated the return of real-life events by allowing visitors to get hands on with a range of unusual activities.
IF Oxford, organised by Oxfordshire Science Festival, drew to a close last month after more than two weeks of events.
After kicking off on October 9, visitors were able to engage with more than 100 events – including the chemistry of a lemon meringue, how to make and colour clouds, and exploring the humour in heartbreak.
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The festival ended on October 26, with communications officer Esther Lafferty delighted with how it went.
She said: “It was a hybrid event this year, so it was exciting to take some of the things we did with the digital festival last year and reach people not just in Oxfordshire.
“However, it was lovely to welcome people back at real events.
“We had dance and comedy – things we thought you would find unexpected at a science festival.
“One of the comedy events was about breaking up with someone, which showed you don’t have to be confronted with test tubes at a science festival, but to do something entirely different.
“There was an event on the migration of animals and what people can do locally – things like hedgehogs being able to get in and out of gardens.
“Although the festival has finished, much of it was recorded so people can continue to access things on the website.”
Mrs Lafferty said the coronavirus pandemic has seen a surge in interest in science, this shown during the festival.
She said: “People are more interested in science – the virus and the vaccine has seen a swell in interest and made people think about other things.
“Although top scientists more often get it right, we had an event on why getting it wrong can be good for science and that science is an exploration process.”
Meanwhile, although this year’s festival has only recently finished, preparation for next year is already underway.
“Planning for next year started straight away, and we’re looking at commissioning and developing things for next year already,” said Mrs Lafferty.
“It’ll be great to be bigger and bolder next year as we get back to the new normal.
“If any organisation or researcher is out there and wants to feed into the festival, then we encourage them to get in touch with us.”
IF Oxford combines science, technology, engineering and mathematics with arts, humanities and culture.
For more information and to access the online activities, please visit: if-oxford.com/events
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