That’s a wrap on Norwich Science Festival 2025!

Hundreds of events, over 9,000 tickets booked, and eight unforgettable days - Norwich Science Festival 2025 was one for the books! 

From climate to tech, biodiversity to health, this year’s Festival filled the February half term with workshops, shows, free hands-on activities and the chance to explore the science of tomorrow.  

A huge THANK YOU to everyone who contributed - our dedicated partners, funders, guest speakers, volunteers and, of course, you, our amazing audience. We’re thrilled to have welcomed a whopping 65,000 visitors to The Forum alone! 

We’re beyond grateful for all the support, and special thanks must also go to our generous sponsors for helping bring Norwich Science Festival 2025 to life. We couldn’t have done it without you! 

What a week! 

We wanted to take a minute to look back at some of the standout moments from this year’s Festival… 

Steve Backshall at University of East Anglia 

Kicking off Norwich Science Festival 2025 with two sell-out shows, the excitement to see BAFTA-winning wildlife expert Steve Backshall was electric! 

Steve really brought the wild to life for families and future nature conservationists with his incredible ‘Learning to Speak Whale’ talk at University of East Anglia. From the mysteries of echolocation to his own thrilling deep-sea adventures, Steve had us all hooked from the very start. 

Later, he was joined by Festival Patron and friend Prof Ben Garrod, for a truly special ‘In Conversation’ event. The dynamic duo inspired us all, delving into Steve’s extraordinary career while sharing their shared passion for the planet’s wildlife and the vital need for its protection. 

The day left us all with a powerful message: “Have an enquiring mind. Look at the world as something that needs explaining. Look at the world as a potential adventure waiting to happen.” 

Getting hands-on with The Explorium 

There’s a good reason why we call The Explorium the heart of Norwich Science Festival! Taking over The Forum’s Atrium and an outdoor marquee on Millennium Plain, The Explorium is the place to get stuck into some hands-on science fun.  

Three brand-new zones gave visitors the chance to create, discover and experiment every day of the Festival, completely for free.

Thousands of you came through the doors to meet our wonderful exhibitors, get close-up with Mini Monsters, take a VR tour of the world-leading Boulby Underground Laboratory and even boogie like a baby with Sussex University! 

Suspended Seasons at Yalm Foodhall 

River Cottage’s Rachel De Thample whisked us away on a deliciously immersive journey through the art of pickling, fermentation and food preservation at Suspended Seasons. Taking place at Yalm Foodhall, Rachel revealed the best methods for preserving food, while we savoured produce straight from River Cottage HQ.

The highlight of the evening? Making our own tangy pickle to take home – a delicious keepsake from a brilliant event, perfect for foodies! 

A fresh take on science

Norwich Science Festival 2025 explored new frontiers as we encouraged visitors to explore the vital role science plays in constructing our future – from artificial intelligence and digital identities to environmental conservation and climate change. 

Dr Tom Crawford taught us how mathematical modelling could be the key to saving our oceans, whilst comedian Lieven Scheire gave us plenty of laughs with an eye-opening look at the future capabilities of A.I. 

Boom, Bang, Whoosh! 

Dr Nikhil Mistry, Head of Curiosity at Winchester Science Centre, had us all utterly mesmerised with his explosive show – Boom, Bang, Whoosh! Nikhil performed to a huge audience on Upper Millennium Plain, and blew us all away with flames, rocketing bottles and propane bubbles as we explored the science behind chemical reactions. Thank you, Nikhil! 

Pop-Up Workshop Hub

An exciting new addition for 2025: we took over Sir Isaac Newton Sixth Form and transformed it into a spectacular pop-up workshop hub!

Over the course of five amazing days, the brilliant team hosted three engaging, hands-on workshops, guiding kids as they became soil scientists, created rainbows, and powered up Spark City!

Food Scientists to the Rescue! 

Hundreds of you joined Scientist Sally and her magical travelling suitcases in our free, family play Food Scientists to the Rescue!

After captivating Norfolk schools as part of the 2025 Festival Learning Programme, the adventure landed at the Festival, where we uncovered the fascinating connections between food, climate change, and our diet. 

Thank you to Dudgeon Community Fund and the Alan Boswell Group Charitable Trust. 

A showstopping finale!

Norwich Science Festival’s spectacular finale saw the world’s most celebrated ballerina, Dame Darcey Bussell, and leading dance psychologist, Dr Peter Lovatt, take the stage at Norwich Theatre Royal.

It was an unforgettable evening filled with personal stories (and plenty of audience participation!) as Darcey and Peter explored the profound impact of dance on our minds, bodies and lives. We couldn’t help but dance out the door with a smile! 

Thank you for being part of it!

The NSF Team