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 5th-20th October 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). 2 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 3 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 4 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 The Royal Observatory Edinburgh College Edinburgh Visitor Centre Normal partners included Artemis Intelligent Power Midlothian Tourism Forum EAE distribution, EDF Energy Roslin Biocentre Edinburgh Science Triangle Rosslyn Chapel GMP Print Solutions Sci-FUN IKEA Stewart Brewing Lab in a lorry Wind Prospect MacTaggart Scott Other organisations and people who got involved Midlothian Arts & Creativity Team Penicuik Community Development University of Edinburgh, Schools of Trust and the Pen-Y-Coe Press Biology, Physics, Neuroscience, Forest Research Geosciences, Chemistry, Maths, Bagatelle EPCC & SIBE Botanica Mathematica GMP Print Solutions Robokid, Heriot Watt University Moredun Research Institute Sing London Midlothian Voluntary Action STFC, Lunar Loans. Museum of Communication Newbattle Abbey College Moorflix community cinema Forestry Commission National Mining Museum Scotland Lewis Hou Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh Castle Rock Edinvar SRUC, Scotland’s Rural College 5 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 Figure 1 – Audience Numbers ..................................................................................... 13 Figure 2 - Number of attendees in Schools Programme .............................................. 16 Figure 3 - Total Number of Volunteers ....................................................................... 20 Figure 4 - Enjoyment of Public events (average score out of 5) ................................. 21 Figure 5 – Enjoyment of School Events (average score out of 5) ............................... 22 Figure 6 – Public events - visitor age distribution ....................................................... 23 Figure 7 – Events for School pupils ............................................................................. 24 Figure 8 - Percentage of audience residing in each geographic area ........................... 24 Figure 9 – Advertising mediums public visitors reported seeing ................................ 31 Figure 10 – Advertising mediums primary school pupils reported seeing .................. 32 Table of Tables Table 1 - Total [cash] Cost of Staging the Festival .................................................... 17 Table 2 - Total Income for Festival ............................................................................. 17 Table 3 - Allocation of Scottish Government Grant .................................................... 18 Table 4 - Audience Distribution .................................................................................. 23 Table 5 - Breakdown of visitors by area ...................................................................... 24 Appendix 1 - Table 6 - Audience Breakdown by Event ............................................. 35 Appendix 2 - Table 7 – List of School Visits .............................................................. 37 7 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,