Explore Week sheds light on Science

A fun-filled half-term week of activities is gearing up in Lancaster to show families that science can be a blast for everyone!

Explore Week, presented by the organisers of Light Up Lancaster in partnership with Lancaster University, takes place from October 21-25 at The Storey in Lancaster, and promises free, lively, hands-on activities combining arts and science.

The week aims to whet the appetite for this year’s Light Up Lancaster festival whose theme is The Art of Science.

And there are plenty of chances to produce lanterns to take to the festival including some made of paper, representing a memory which can be dedicated to a loved one and become part of the Labyrinth installation from November 7-9.

Among other creative activities for young people and their families are opportunities to make stop motion films, kaleidoscopes, shadow puppets, and zines.

Children can also get busy painting bumblebee nest boxes with Lancaster University’s very own Dr Bees, aka Dr Philip Donkersley, and see a live bumblebee camera give a close-up look at these fascinating pollinators. This session is part of the festival’s Insect Architecture installation, celebrating the incredible structures built by nature’s tiniest architects.

There’s an opportunity to build a 3D hand-held experimental cabin too with Diamond Light Source, the UK’s own particle accelerator, which produces super bright light to shine on samples from fossils to jet engines and reveal their secrets.

Also among the attractions curated by Lancaster University is a dazzling display depicting the living, glowing creatures who make their own light known as bioluminescence. 

During Explore Week, visitors can send a letter to space, experiment with science and gadgets and discover what might have the potential to provide low-cost solar electricity in the future.

And on the subject of creating a happier, healthier planet, FoodFutures and Closing Loops are inviting visitors to help create a Planet Promises Wall which will be lit up in Market Square during the festival.

Also getting into the science groove during Explore Week are two Lancaster dance companies as from the Monday-Thursday, 10am-noon, under six-year-olds and their parents are invited to join Ludus Dance for gentle movement, shadow and light play and from 2-4pm, over six-year-olds and parents can enjoy movement games within a studio lit with solar power, torches and projections.

Meanwhile, LPM Dance bring Doodlebug, their interactive dance performance for young children, to the science party on October 24. Places must be booked by emailing takepart@lightuplancaster.co.uk.

So for anyone wanting to learn something new about light, art and science under one roof for free, Explore Week is the perfect opportunity. 

Lancaster University’s public engagement manager Jess Shaw, said: “We’re thrilled to partner with Light Up Lancaster to bring Explore Week to life!

It’s a fantastic opportunity to spark curiosity and show how science can be fun and engaging for all ages. By blending hands-on activities with cutting-edge research, we’re excited to share the wonders of science with our community in a way that’s creative, interactive, and accessible.

This event sets the stage for the Light Up Lancaster festival, offering a playful prelude to the Art of Science theme this year.”

For details of Explore Week and the Light Up Lancaster festival, visit: www.lightuplancaster.co.uk