Glasgow Science Festival: Cheers to 20 years!

This year the Glasgow Science Festival celebrated 20 years of widening access and sharing the joy of science with people across Glasgow, and we were delighted to be a part of it!

On the 4th June Alison and Roisin went along to the City Chambers to take part in the civic reception marking the official launch of the 2026 Festival.

After spending a wee bit of time wandering the halls and looking at the different artifacts that have shaped Glasgow’s history, we headed up to the 3rd floor atrium to mingle with the other attendees. It was great to hear from festival founder Dr Deborah O’Neill about the history of the festival and how it has grown over the last 20 years.

Debbie spoke so warmly about the history of the festival and the number of people it has reached. Her passion and devotion to the festival and its goal of making science more accessible across Glasgow was clear, as was her gratitude to the past and present members of the team who have supported the event since 2007. The Lord Provost also addressed the room, thanking the team for their contribution to the development of an engaging STEAM culture in the city and for widening access for so many residents.

A week later we were delighted to bring a little bit of Boom! to the festival. We were invited to deliver an activity at the Glasgow Science Festival: Cheers for 20 Years event held at the University of Glasgow Advanced Research Centre (the ARC). This evening event was a celebration of the festival's birthday, and invited adults along to hear more about the festival and take part in some great activities including conversations around women in games, the ecological health of the River Clyde, and Songs & Science. A great time was had by everyone, and we enjoyed the chance to support the attendees to make their very own block printed card to commemorate the anniversary and celebrate how wonderful science is!

We have so many wonderful memories of taking part in the Science Festival over the years and hope to be back with them again in the future!