NSF26: A decade of discovery - and a bold new theme!

Mark your calendars! Norwich Science Festival is back from Saturday 14–Saturday 21 February 2026, and we’re getting ready for our most exciting year yet.  

Next February, we’re celebrating a major milestone as Norwich Science Festival turns 10! Since first launching back in 2016, the Festival has grown into one of the region’s most anticipated annual events, bringing together scientists, artists, schools, families, and curious minds of all ages.  

Our team is hard at work behind the scenes putting together a bumper programme of events for 2026. Expect big family shows, hands-on workshops, thought-provoking talks, and plenty of wow moments. 

We can’t wait to share more with you in the months ahead! 

Of course, it wouldn’t be a new Festival year without a new Festival theme! In 2026, we’ll be exploring... 

YOUR WORLD, REIMAGINED  

What if we could press pause on the way things are, and imagine something new?  

In 2026, Norwich Science Festival invites you to do just that: to step into a space where science meets creativity, and curiosity sparks new possibilities. This year, we’re offering the chance to reimagine the world around you, and the things that matter most.  

How might new technologies transform your health and well-being? What could climate action mean for the homes and communities we live in? And if you were starting anew, what kind of future would you design?  

Next year’s Festival will ask: what would you change if you had the tools of science, innovation, technology, creativity, bold thinking, and community at your fingertips?  

The Festival is reimagining something new for the future, too. As we celebrate ten years since the very first Norwich Science Festival in 2016, we’re bringing some exciting changes to the NSF experience!  

The worlds we know today exist because others once dared to imagine something different. In our 10^th anniversary year, we’ll come together to look beyond what is, to envisage (and begin building) what could be.  

Behind the scenes – Q&A with our Festival producer, Claire Mutimer  

Hi Claire! Can you give us a sense of what NSF26 will be like? 

"We are absolutely bursting with excitement for our ten-year anniversary Festival! We have some very exciting contributors from across the UK, bringing some amazing family shows packed with dinosaurs, creepie crawlies, space travel and even the future of electricity!  

Festival favourites like the Explorer Dome planetarium and the amazing hands-on heart of the Festival – The Explorium! - are making a grand return. Plus, we are developing our immersive workshops even more, so that children will step into whole new worlds to explore rainbows, farming and much more through activities and experiments.

And for grown-ups? We have an amazing line-up developing looking at subjects such as the age of diagnosis to the science of fermenting Kombucha."

What new or different things should we expect at next year’s Festival? 

"I can give you a little sneak peek...we’re bringing science outdoors! Next year we plan to have a brand-new entertainment space right outside the Forum– an arena of science! Think spectacular shows every day of the Festival with bubbles, robots and fire. So, bring your coat and be prepared to be wowed!"

What makes next year’s theme special? 

"The 2026 theme is Your World, Reimagined and we think it’s our most exciting yet. We want to give people the chance to reflect, and this theme is all about pressing pause on the ways things are and asking, “What if?” What if science could help us rethink how we live, work, and care for our planet? What if creativity could unlock new ways of seeing the world?

We want the Festival to be a space where science meets creativity, and where bold ideas come to life. We’ll be exploring big questions – how tech could transform our health, what climate action might mean for the homes and communities of tomorrow, and what kind of future you would design if you had the tools.  

I can’t reveal too much yet...but let’s just say we have various elements of the Festival where looking at science through a more creative lens will challenge visitors to think about the future and imagine how science might allow new possibilities."

And finally, what are you most looking forward to about NSF26? 

"I am really looking forward to welcoming everyone from all generations to The Forum and our other venues. At this stage when we're really busy programming lots of exciting events for the Festival, we're always thinking about the visitor and trying to get brilliant, diverse presenters and special guests to inspire and entertain our amazing audiences.  

I am also incredibly excited about the new Festival spaces we’re planning – all of which we’ll reveal in due course, but I can’t wait to see it all come to life!"

Join us to celebrate 10 years of creativity and curiosity 

Whether you’ve been with us since the beginning or are discovering Norwich Science Festival for the first time, we’d love for you to be part of the celebration in 2026! 

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