Edinburgh Science Festival

Edinburgh Science Festival takes place Saturday 5 – Sunday 20 April 2025 and our staff and students are involved in a number of events:

Higgs Theoretical Physics Walking Tour

Saturday 5 – Monday 14 April 2025

Discover Edinburgh’s storied history of theoretical physics on this guided tour.

This tour will guide you through the nooks and crannies of beautiful Edinburgh, highlighting places associated with extraordinary physicists who have called the Scottish capital home. You’ll learn personal anecdotes about physicists whose names you’ll recognise, as well as others who are less famous but no less interesting. Hear about their fascinating life stories and world-changing science in small groups led by physics lecturers and PhD researchers from the University.

Full details: Higgs Theoretical Physics Walking Tour

Code your own Mars mission

Friday 11 April 2025

Mars Rovers are robots designed to explore the surface of Mars, collecting and sending back important information. They have to work in an extremely remote place, with no one there to fix problems!

Join us to learn how to use Scratch computer programming with a mini LEGO® rover to take on challenges just like the real ones face, such as avoiding obstacles and searching for water.

Full details: Code your own Mars mission

Nature’s Architecture

Monday 14 April 2025

Join researchers from chemistry and physics to explore the microscopic world around us. You’ll discover how the microstructure of shells and bones determines the strength and resilience of skeletons, and ultimately where animals can survive and what they can do. Use an electron microscope to see these beautiful and fascinating tiny structures for yourself and meet the researchers figuring out just how living organisms control the creation and use of these intricate crystals and how this helps us understand our world.

Full details: Nature’s Architecture

Meet the Scientists: The University of Edinburgh

Mon 14 – Wed 16 Apr 2025

Join us at Dynamic Earth to attend this drop in activity and meet The University of Edinburgh scientists working to better understand our world and how to tackle our climate and environmental crises. See first-hand how issues such as carbon emissions and freshwater shortages are being tackled, dive into the microscopic world of biofilms and ask if the potential of AI and supercomputing technologies of the future are worth the environmental costs.

Full details: Meet the Scientists: The University of Edinburgh