Science Festival Report 2010

Midlothian Science Festival
2013
EVALUATION REPORT

For further information on this report please contact:

Dr Iona Beange,c/o Sarah Keer-Keer
School of Biology, University of Edinburgh
Room 316c, Darwin Building
Kings Buildings
Edinburgh, EH9 3JF

Telephone: 07790310859,Email: [email protected]

Executive Summary

Midlothian Science Festival ran for the second time from 5^th-20^thOctober 2013.

The majority of funding was ‘in-kind’ in terms of venues and staff time. The main cash funding was received from The Scottish Government Science Festivals funding. Other cash was received from partners, of which many more joined this year, and included for the first time local businesses.

In 2013 Midlothian Science Festival became a registered charity SC044130 and a company limited by guarantee SC446006.

The Festival at a Glance



70+ public events including family drop-ins, films, talks by scientists, book groups, author talks, outdoor activities, exhibitions, a rocket building competition.



19 + School events including workshops, travelling exhibitions, shows and teacher training.

Over 6000 visitors attended events (1728 schools, 4308 public). A six-fold increase on last year!



Cash cost of approx. £10,000 Midlothian Science Festival has 3 directors / trustees who gave over 100 hours of their time on organising and running the festival:

o Philip Wark, Library Services Manager, Midlothian Council o Fiona Maher, Arts & Creativity Team Manager, Midlothian Council o Sarah Keer-Keer, Outreach and Communication Manager,
Wellcome Trust Centre for Cell Biology, University of Edinburgh



There was one paid member of staff, a part-time Freelance Festival Manager Iona Beange, who was paid for a portion of the hours she worked. The other hours were kindly volunteered.

2 further members joined the core committee on a regular basis – Library Manager Rachel Archibald and Public Engagement Professional Kathleen Pullen.

The Festival Committee were provided in-kind by their organisations including Midlothian Libraries, Midlothian Arts and Creativity Team, Midlothian Ranger Service, University of Edinburgh, Roslin Institute, EAE of Loanhead, Edinburgh Science Triangle, (and many more).

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

Over 125 volunteers helped with events during the festival. These people came from a range of organisations including industry, higher

education institutions and colleges (staff and students), and ‘other

groups’. At least 7 of these were STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Maths) Ambassadors.



17+ library staff contributed to events at all levels, from participating on organising committee, to organising their own local events.

25+ venues were involved, including libraries across Midlothian, Vogrie Country Park, The Lasswade Centre and Rosslyn chapel.

Events There were more than 70 public events at Midlothian Science festival including:



5 Gala days, which attracted over 100 people each 24 Library events 12 Outdoor events 14 Events for adults 6 Exhibitions 2 Competitions 3 Book Clubs 6 events from outside providers (Dr Bunhead and ComputerXplorers)



4 Other events

And 18 school events:



11 workshops at primary schools 6 workshops at secondary schools 1 high school teacher training event

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Magical Moments

Numbers never tell the whole story. Many magical moments took place across the festival. Some examples include:

 "I am just about to finish my degree as a mature student. I wished I had done it straight after school. Events like this will help my son avoid the same mistake"

 One lady to parasitologist "at school we had to choose between Art and
Science. I chose Art and I think it may have been a mistake. It is too

late to retrain?”

 A lot of young people [were] engaging and discussing options for future education i.e. one girl told me that it had broadened her idea of the

possibilities for further education – volunteer at Science Alive Gala day

 From Bonnyrigg librarian ‘After The Big Squeeze demonstration,

several young people (who don’t normally engage) went online to look up how the stuff worked!’

 Daughter: " I want to be a Scientist" Mum: "I thought you wanted to be a popstar"

 The Gala day at Danderhall engaged 196 people- a record number for this library in one day. It led to some new library members and people are still talking about it. The community were so inspired by the day that a 75 yr old women on crutches came along just so she could make tea for the volunteers.
 I felt I had to contact you to say how much we have enjoyed our 1st
Midlothian science festival. My daughter Maisie is 6 years old and we have had the best fun ever this week, and all our on doorstep in Midlothian. It has to be said its difficult to say who has had the most fun this week as Maisie and I both loved our adventures out. It was so great to be able to attend such an affordable array of quality events in the local area. We had hoped to get away on holiday this October break but it has to be said we have had the best fun ever and here in Midlothian. I am sure such a programme of events takes mammoth energy and enthusiasm and a very big thank you from Maisie and I for a very memorable, fun and educational week. We hope you have the energy and funding opportunities to make this an annual event. Many thanks.

MJ, Newtongrange

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Partners

This year we made a concerted effort to get more local partners involved in the festival, including partners from businesses. We increased the number of partners from approximately 7 to 24. We now have three tiers of partner, depending on the value of their contribution with principal partners giving the most value to the festival.

Principal partners

 Midlothian Libraries  Wellcome Trust Centre for Cell Biology  The Scottish Government  The University of Edinburgh  Midlothian Council

Major partners

 The Roslin Institute

 AOC Archaeology

 EAE

 Midlothian Ranger Service

 Edinburgh College

 The Royal Observatory

Edinburgh Visitor Centre

Normal partners included

 Artemis Intelligent Power  EAE distribution, EDF Energy  Edinburgh Science Triangle  GMP Print Solutions  IKEA
 Midlothian Tourism Forum  Roslin Biocentre  Rosslyn Chapel  Sci-FUN  Stewart Brewing

 Wind Prospect

 Lab in a lorry

 MacTaggart Scott

Other organisations and people who got involved

Midlothian Arts & Creativity Team University of Edinburgh, Schools of Biology, Physics, Neuroscience, Geosciences, Chemistry, Maths, EPCC & SIBE
Penicuik Community Development Trust and the Pen-Y-Coe Press Forest Research Bagatelle Botanica Mathematica Robokid, Heriot Watt University Sing London STFC, Lunar Loans. Newbattle Abbey College Forestry Commission Lewis Hou
GMP Print Solutions Moredun Research Institute Midlothian Voluntary Action Museum of Communication Moorflix community cinema National Mining Museum Scotland Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh

SRUC, Scotland’s Rural College

Castle Rock Edinvar
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Full Evaluation Report

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements

i)

Funders

ii) Partners

1.

Introduction

1.1. Aims and Objectives

2.

Content

2.1. Programme Structure 2.2. Form of Interaction 2.3. External Venues

3.

Audience Participation

3.1. Audience Numbers 3.2. Schools

4.

Economic Impact

4.1. Total Cost of Staging Festival 4.2. Total Income for Festival 4.3. How the Scottish Government Grant was Allocated 4.4. Content Provision 4.5. Total Number of Paid Staff 4.6. Total Number of Volunteers

5.

Evaluation

5.1. Measures of Success 5.2. Evaluation Comments 5.3. Evaluation of Advertisement Methods

6.

Conclusion

6

Table of Figures

Table of Tables

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Preface - Acknowledgements

i)

Funders

See our principal, major and normal partners listed on page 4

ii) Committee Members Chair / Director / Trustee – Philip Wark, Library Services Manager,

Midlothian Council

Other Directors:

 Fiona Maher, Arts & Creativity Team Manager, Midlothian Council  Sarah Keer-Keer, Outreach and Communication Manager, Wellcome
Trust Centre for Cell Biology, University of Edinburgh

Festival Manager – Iona Beange Organisations represented on Committee:



Midlothian Libraries Midlothian Arts and Creativity Team Midlothian Ranger Service University of Edinburgh - including Wellcome Trust Centre for Cell Biology, The Roslin Institute, The School of Biology,



Midlothian Council EAE Distribution Edinburgh Science Triangle

iii) Other Partners

See our partners list on page 4
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1 Introduction

1.1 Background

The Midlothian Science Festival began in 2012 with over 30 events put together in just 4 months. The focus was on bringing science to the local area, with libraries playing a key role as venues and hosts.

In 2013 Midlothian Science Festival became a registered charity (charity number SCO44130) and a company limited by guarantee (Company number SC446006).

The 2013 Midlothian Science Festival was held from 5^th-20^thOctober 2013 and saw a greatly expanded programme. The number of public events was doubled to include over 70 public events, and a schools programme was added on top of that.

Plans are already in place for the 2014 festival which will run 4^th-19^thOct 2014, celebrating Homecoming Year amongst other themes.

1.2 Strategy

Midlothian residents are surrounded by cutting edge science and technology, however the science industry is disconnected from the local community, who often feel distrustful of science and scientists. Furthermore, most of the excellent and interesting science and technology jobs do not go to Midlothian residents – in fact these jobs seem invisible to Midlothian residents. Within schools there is not a culture of aspiration towards these local jobs and careers. Midlothian faces a number of social and economic challenges including low wages, youth unemployment and a low number of school leavers entering higher education.

With this festival, we want to:
 Build relationships and trust between local science industries and local communities
 Encourage people to look towards these science industries as places of potential employment
 Encourage communities to understand issues of controversy, empowering them towards active participation in issues that affect them and their community
 Raise the aspirations of local school children

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1.3 Key Messages

 Science is everywhere and is for everyone – regardless of age or

background

 Science and technology is a key part of Midlothian’s cultural identity

and infuses into all areas including our natural and historic environment, our food and drink, our health care and sporting achievements, and our creative arts
 Midlothian has rich history of science and technology and continues to

be a world leader in this field

 There are lots of career opportunities within science and technology in Midlothian
 Our local libraries are a key location for accessing science resources throughout the year.

1.4 Aims and Objectives

a. b. to run stimulating and enjoyable interactive science activities for a wide range of audiences in Midlothian;

to provide a non-threatening entry point for local people from a varied demographic area (including rural and deprived areas) to engage with science;

c.

d. e. to showcase, in an engaging way, the current and historical science originating from Midlothian; and

to provide role models for careers in the form of festival staff, volunteers and presenters who work in STEM in the local area.

To demonstrate Midlothian’s contribution and importance to

science and technology at a global level and to broaden the horizons of future generations of scientists.

2 Content

2.1 Programme Structure

This year, Midlothian Science Festival had 2 main strands – public events and schools events. This was our first year of school events.

Midlothian Science Festival has a strong geographic focus and aims to bring science events to the doorstep of Midlothian residents. All of the events took place within the Midlothian Council area and as far as possible involved Midlothian or Lothian scientists and organisations.

The programme avoided prescriptive rules on event types or themes, aiming to be as inclusive as possible and promote involvement of local organisations.

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2.2 Form of Interaction

Schools: There were 18 school events, 11 at primary schools, 7 at secondary schools including one teacher training event

There were over 70 public events at Midlothian Science festival including

5 Gala days

 Mayfield Library – 170 visitors  Science in the Glen (Roslin Glen) 150 visitors  Big Bang Energy Day (National Mining Museum) 170 visitors  Science Alive Gala Day (Lasswade High School Centre) 461 visitors  Weird science at Danderhall Library 196 visitors

24 Library events – including:

 Heart stoppers at Gorebridge Library  Supercomputing and you at Dalkeith Library  Discover archaeology at Loanhead Library  Biscuit city of the future at Penicuik Library

12 Outdoor events – including:

 Gerry and the breadmakers at Vogrie Country Park  Plant a tree at Springfield Mill Nature Reserve  Science in the saddle bike ride with The Roslin Institute  The secret life of herbs at Newbattle Abbey College

14 Events for adults - including

 Talk, tour and tasting at Stewart Brewery.  Mind yer brain (film and discussion) with Moorflix  Behind the scenes at Roslin Biocentre  Beauty Lab at Danderhall Library

6 Exhibitions - including

 Travelling Museum of British Invention with Sing London  Great Scientists of Midlothian at Danderhall Library  Archaeological Detectives at Loanhead Library  CTR Wilson with Penicuik Community Development Trust.

2 Competitions:

 Cake-a-licious – design a cake competition  Blast off – build and launch a water rocket competition

3 Book Clubs – in association with Wellcome Trust Centre for Cell Biology.

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2.3 External Venues

More than 25 different venues housed events for Midlothian Science Festival. These included:

Libraries:

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Dalkeith Library

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Mayfield Library Newtongrange Library Penicuik Library Roslin Library
Danderhall Library Gorebridge Library Lasswade Centre Loanhead Library

Higher and Further Education Buildings – all new for 2013

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Edinburgh College, Dalkeith

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Newbattle Abbey College

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Langhill Farm

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The Roslin Institute

Business Premises

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Flotterstone Inn IKEA Edinburgh (new for 2013) Roslin Biocentre (new for 2013) Stewart Brewing, (new for 2013)

Outdoors

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Roslin Glen Country Park (new for 2013) Springfield Mill Nature Reserve (new for 2013) Vogrie Country Park Boghall Farm (new for 2013)

Other

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Rosslyn Chapel (new for 2013) Temple Village Hall, Temple (new for 2013)

Private individuals’ houses (Book Groups)

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1. Audience Participation

Figure 1 – Audience Numbers (see Appendix 1 for Table of figures, numbers as reported by event co-ordinators)

500 450 400 350 300

250 200 150 100
50
0

Gala Days

Library Events Outdoor Events

500 450 400

350 300

250 200

150 100
50

0

Adult Events

Outside Providers

Exhibitions

Competitions

Book Club

Other

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Audiences this year exceeded our expectations. Over 4000 people engaged with our public programme, compared to 1000 last year.

The most popular ticketed events in terms of speed to ‘sell out’ were:
 Dr Bunheads Very Dangerous Coal Shows (Family Science Show)  Stewart Brewing – tour and tasting (adults only)

However, the majority of our events were non-ticketed, drop in style, several of which exceeded our attendance expectations including:
 Science Alive Gala day (The Lasswade Centre)  Wild Food Ramble, with Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh (Gorebridge Library)  Crafty Science at Mayfield Library  Travelling Museum of British Invention (various)