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Nwicker60
08-Mar-13, 10:10
Art, a quiz, Lego robots and stem cells, worshops, songs and stories are some of the attractions at this truly international event

Caithness International Science Festival, from March 19th to Saturday, 23rd March has a wide range of attractions for all ages.
As well as a varied programme of workshops for schools, we have also scheduled a range of events for the public, including:
A science quiz currently running in Wick Library; entry forms are available from the Festival display in the lobby and the first correct entry drawn from the box will win a copy of The Ultimate Book of Science;
An Art of Science project which is running at the St Fergus
Gallery. People can visit the gallery and view a fascinating range of objects under USB microscopes and then use these to create their own artwork for display;
On Tuesday, 19th March at 6.30pm the Festival will be officially launched by Festival Chairman Professor Iain Baikie at Pulteneytown Academy. This event is free and open to the public and will include short shows from Mr Bug, Bubble strings and the Glasgow Science Centre’s science buskers. There will also be some star gazing with
the Caithness Astronomy Group, a fun family challenge with Sphere Science, Lego Mindstorm robots with the local British Science Association and some-hands on science activities with the Caithness branch of the IET who are helping to support the event;
The Wick Library will be offering a science-themed Bookbugs session on Wednesday, 20th March at 11 am, with super science songs and stories;
The Highland Council's Countryside Rangers will be holding a Bottle Bird Feeder workshop on Wednesday 20th March @ 6.30pm at the Seadrift Centre, Dunnet. Ranger Paul Castle will be demonstrating how to make a bird feeder from plastic bottles, which will attract plenty of birds to your garden. There is a £5 fee per family group to cover materials and spaces are limited ? to book, contact helen@kptechnology.ltd.uk;
On Thursday, 21st March at 7.00pm at Thurso High School there will be a free public screening of the award-winning documentary Stem Cell Revolutions, which looks at the history and future of stem cell research and the way in which this research is revolutionising the treatment of disease. The University of Edinburgh MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine’s Professor Clare Blackburn, who was scientific producer of the film, will be on hand to discuss the film and answer questions from the audience; Whale and Dolphin Conservation will be hosting a Shorewatch session at Dunnet Head carpark on Friday 21st March from 12 noon to 3pm. People are invited to join the WDC staff and become a whale and dolphin spotter for the afternoon using giant big eye binoculars.
The WDC staff will also be hosting a free public talk at Wick Assembly Rooms on Saturday, 23rd March from 11.00 to 12 noon where people can learn about the different species of whales and dolphins found in northern Scottish waters and how to become a volunteer for WDC.
Finally, on Saturday 23rd March from 12.00 noon to 4.30 pm, there will be a free Family Science Fun Day at Wick Assembly Rooms featuring Mr Bug, Bubblestrings, the Glasgow Science Centre buskers and Blood, Bile and Body Bits?, as well as over 15 local science groups and organisations. There will be plenty of hands-on things to make and do for all ages, including solar observing, weather forecasting, photography, Lego and Knex models, robots, balloon buggies and more.
As part of the schools programme, the Festival is this year bringing 8 workshops to Caithness, including ?Future Earth from Edinburgh’s Generation Science, Philip Noble?s Bubblestrings workshop and two TechFest Aberdeen workshops entitled Maths Around the World and Magnets.
Also on offer for local schools will be the hands-on animal experience of Mr Bug Blood, Bile and Body Bits? from Glasgow Science Centre’s Bodyworks on Tour group and Sphere Science’s Air workshop, which looks at the science of flight. Scratch computer programming workshops will also be running in Pennyland and Wick North primary schools.
The Science O3 committee is grateful to our sponsors, including DSRL, NDA, the Scottish Government, Subsea 7 and the IET for their support of this exciting week of events. For more information, visit our website at www.science03.org (http://www.science03.org) or find us on Facebook and Twitter under Science O3.