More than 100 events revealed for this year's British Science Festival – at DMU

The full programme of more than 100 events for this year’s British Science Festival – hosted at De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) - has been revealed. 

Immersive installations and river excursions join creative explorations of stargazing, dinosaurs, AI and body illusions over five days between September 13 and 17 this year. 

DMU is working in partnership with the British Science Association (BSA) to host the festival, which is one of the biggest events on the UK’s scientific calendar. 

While DMU is the host this year, the BSA is also partnering University of Leicester, Loughborough University, Morningside Pharmaceutical and Leicester City Council, with events organised by all three universities and the BSA taking place throughout Leicester (in the city centre and on the DMU campus). 

Events are scheduled throughout the day and into the evening from Tuesday 13 to Saturday 17 September and while all tickets for the British Science Festival are completely free, spaces are limited so booking is essential for most events.  

Ticket bookings and the full programme line-up can be found at the British Science Festival website. 

Professor Katie Normington, Vice-Chancellor of DMU, said “The British Science Festival is such an innovative, engaging, and illuminating event – which makes us at De Montfort University incredibly proud to be hosting it for 2022.  

“We’ll be exploring all aspects of science through creative, collaborative projects involving talented researchers. DMU academics are putting on over 30 events aiming to spark curiosity and captivate science enthusiasts in Leicester, and the rest of the UK. Such curiosity is important in driving forward innovation in the East Midlands and the UK. 

“We’re looking forward to welcoming people to our campus and the city of Leicester, playing host to a fascinating and unique mix of events. We’d like to thank our partners for helping the big event ideas come to fruition.” 

Some of the programme highlights include: 

• The world premiere of The Compass, an installation driven by British research pioneers and the everyday person’s life journey. Created by Illuminos, The Compass represents a shared navigation of knowledge, discovery, and the science that shapes our world.  

• For a spot of stargazing and a glimpse into the world of space and astronomy, become part of the live audience at a recording of the BBC’s The Sky at Night  – hosted by Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock and Professor Chris Lintott. 

• In Painting over of the cracks, a one-of-a-kind art workshop, visitors can Dr join Indrani Lahiri, senior lecturer in media and communication at DMU, to explore how different forms of putting paint to canvas might be a way of switching off and better managing mental health. 

Antonio Benitez, Director of the British Science Festival, said: “The British Science Festival exists to shake up the UK’s science engagement landscape in a truly unique, creative and inclusive way.   

“This year’s festival line-up, developed in collaboration with De Montfort University, alongside dozens of fantastic research institutions, organisations, visual and performance artists, creative researchers, and activists - will do just that. The festival will transform our approach to creative science engagement with over 100 events celebrating the people, stories and ideas at the heart. 

“We’re excited to deliver a programme of unique events that showcase world-class research taking place in Leicester, the East Midlands, and beyond.”