Roll up, roll up for.. telescopes, planetariums and amphibians at Lewes' own science fair
By: Alice Ingall
Last updated: Monday, 23 April 2018
The Lewes Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Festival (Lewes STEMFest) will return to Lewes Town Hall for its third year on Saturday 28th April from 12-3pm.
Organised by scientists at the University of Sussex to try to excite children about science, the free festival will be bubbling over with activities for all ages. This year's festival will see the return of University of Sussex's popular inflatable planetarium, the East Sussex Reptile and Amphibian Society, and a paper bridge-building challenge. New this year will be activities and information about the James Webb Space Telescope which will be launched by NASA into space in 2020 - presented by Sussex's scientists who will take some of the first observations of the telescope.
Dr Stephen Wilkins, an astrophysicist at the University of Sussex who is involved in the James Webb Space Telescope, is among those organising the festival. He says:
“The University of Sussex is full of ground-breaking research from astronomers planning for the next space telescope, physicists building quantum computers and scientists designing smash-proof mobile phone screens. We're excited to bring all these ideas and more to Lewes STEMFest so the young people who live nearby can see how exciting science can be, and what major breakthroughs are happening on their doorstep.
"There'll be great activities running from scientists at the University and beyond. We hope it'll be a fun afternoon for all ages."
Last year's festival attracted almost 800 visitors. There's no need to book tickets in advance - just turn up. For more information please see the festival's Facebook page: www.facebook.com/LewesSTEMFest/