Patrons

We’re delighted to work with our patrons Prof Ben Garrod, Dr Jess French, Jon Chase and Mark Thompson to champion the Norwich Science Festival.

Prof Ben Garrod

Ben is an evolutionary biologist and primate conservationist, broadcaster for television and radio, and author of several books, covering a range of subjects from evolution and anatomy to animal behaviour and natural history. His TV credits include the award-winning BBC4 series Secrets of Bones (2014), Attenborough and the Giant Dinosaur (2016), The Day the Dinosaurs Died (2017), Hyper-evolution: the Rise of Robots (2017), Secrets of Skin (2019) and Baby Chimp Rescue (2020).

Dr Jess French

Jess is a vet, zoologist, presenter and author best known for her CBeebies show Minibeast Adventure with Jess and her books on animals, conservation and protecting the natural world. Jess is also an explorer, adventurer and traveller and has worked at a gibbon sanctuary in Thailand, a monkey sanctuary in Bolivia and a dog shelter in India.

Jon Chase

Jon is a freelance science communicator, author and rapper. Jon is passionate about making science accessible to all. He has worked as a presenter for the BBC and Open University and is the UK’s foremost proponent of Science Raps having performed at The Science Museum, The Royal Society and The Royal Institution.

Mark Thompson

Mark is a TV presenter and author with a passion for the night sky. He rose to popularity during his time on The One Show presenting space/science films and also presented on BBC Stargazing Live. He has written nine books, appears on Good Morning Britain and now tours his popular Spectacular Science Show around the country. He has recently launched a podcast called The Pocket Astronomer where he guides listeners around the night sky.