Virtual reality space expeditions, deep sea creatures and a 'safari into the mind' of one of the BBC's biggest wildlife stars – Norwich Science Festival is back with its biggest event so far.
Yesterday saw the launch of the Festival's brochure and website, starring a giant moorhen made entirely of discarded rubbish, commissioned for the event by Anglian Water.
The festival has a packed programme of more than 130 events over the nine days, featuring everything from drone racing to in-depth talks on women in science.
Chris Packham is headlining the festival with a humorous exploration into 'conservation, self-empowerment and activism'.
Other speakers include BAFTA winning Cbeebies presenter Maddie Moate and international explorer Benedict Allen, with an account of his latest solo adventure in Papua New Guinea.
This year's theme is 'our future world' which organisers hope will inspire people to explore the science and technology shaping the future.
Natalie Bailey, from the forum, said: 'The festival kicks off this year with a day exploring our oceans and waterways. We're doing a lot of work exploring the use of plastics which is a huge issue right now.'
Anglian Water are sponsoring the festival and have commissioned a series of
animal sculptures created out of discarded items collected from the county's beaches and rivers.
Lottie Williams, of Anglian Water, hopes the event will be a chance to encourage more young people to consider careers in STEM fields.
She said: 'We'll be joining and supporting on a number of different days and looking at what we're doing as a company to help eradicate plastic waste as well as how we can support communities to tackle marine plastics.'
Laura Bowater, professor of microbiology education and engagement at the UEA, said: 'We're delighted to support the Norwich Science Festival again this year.
'It's been extremely rewarding seeing the festival go from strength to strength. One of the things we're keen that the festival does is to highlight some of the science we have going on here in the Eastern region.'
Visit https://norwichsciencefestival.co.uk to see all events and book tickets, or pick up a brochure from The Forum, Norwich.
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