NI Science Festival

12/10/2026

World Mental Health Day fell on Saturday, and we spent it celebrating and connecting with all of you at ShoreLife 2026! 🌊☀️

The sun stayed out, the vibes stayed high, and we want to say a huge thank you to everyone who came along.

From Mount Stewart regulars to first-timers, families and little explorers, plus our brilliant presenters and workshop hosts, there was something for everyone. We got stuck into artistic printing, survival skills, aquatic introductions, crafting for the sky and its feathered residents, and plenty more where that came from!

Here are just a few highlights from a wonderful day of connection, creativity and nature exploration. See you next year📷🤩

09/10/2026

🚨 OUR FIRST 2027 PROGRAMME ANNOUNCEMENT IS HERE! 🌿

NI Science Festival returns 10-21 February 2027 and delighted to announce our first headliner!

🎤 MICHAELA STRACHAN – NOT JUST A WILD LIFE

From The Really Wild Show to Springwatch, BAFTA award-winning presenter Michaela Strachan has spent four decades bringing us closer to the natural world. Now, she’s coming to Belfast with a live show packed with extraordinary wildlife encounters, hilarious behind-the-scenes stories and unforgettable moments from a remarkable career.

Discover how our understanding of wildlife and conservation has changed over 40 years, and celebrate a life spent inspiring generations to look a little closer at the world around us. 🌍

📅 Sunday 14 February 2027 | 2pm
📍 Whitla Hall, Belfast
🎟️ Tickets £22 | Ages 11+

Book via our website (link in the bio)...

05/10/2026

This Saturday is World Mental Health Day, and Shorelife Festival is marking it with a day of creating, connecting and getting back to nature at Mount Stewart.

Design and fly a kite inspired by the resident Brent geese, try free screen printing with artist Imogen Donegan to create your exclusive Shorelife T-shirt, or slow down with a therapeutic photography workshop. There’s a commemorative poster to take home, a printmaking activity for little artists, and plenty more besides.🪁🎨📷

Join us at Mount Stewart on Saturday the 10th of October, to slow down and reconnect.

🔗See just how much is happening on at our website

02/10/2026

Is ET the alien beauty standard? Would amber really store the key to dino resurrection? Is space travel the next electric car?

Join Professor Francis Kennan of QUB at our newest NI Science Cafe as he explores the accuracies (and, more commonly, the inaccuracies) of the science behind your favourite fictions.

Find out how filmmakers’ imaginings could scientifically map onto our real futures, and enjoy a pint while you ponder your own predictions.

Tickets just £3. Find out more at the link in our bio.

25/09/2026

She’s on the hunt for the perfect Saturday👀👀. Aren’t we all?
Good news, it’s waiting for her on October 10th at Mount Stewart.
Shorelife Festival is back and free for the whole family, so here is a spotlight on just a few events on offer.
‼️See our bio for the full programme and start planning your day.

23/09/2026

Really looking forward to Shorelife Celebration this October.

For visitors there is FREE ENTRY to each location and a programme of bookable and non-bookable activities that shine a light on nature and wildlife inhabiting the local shoreline and official Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Strangford Lough.
📅 Saturday 10 October 2026
⏰ 10am-5pm
𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐧-𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝘁 𝗠𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝘄𝗮𝗿𝘁…
🐦 Nature in the Making with Holywood Men's Shed
Drop-in demonstrations and hands-on activities on the theme of nature and the environment
🔍 Look Closer: Screenings & Mini Lab Workshops, Led by scientists from Queen's University Marine Laboratory
Kids are invited to watch CBeebies Tiny Wonders on the BIG screen, and then dive into hands-on exploration in our Mini Lab Zones
🧶 Willow & Wool Craft with Jenni from Born in a Field
Using willow and colourful wool fibres, you’ll learn how to make your own traditional-style God’s Eye, combining natural materials, colour and pattern to create a unique piece to take home
🔥Bushcraft Discovery with Strangford Lough Activity Centre
Participants will learn traditional outdoor skills including shelter building (natural & man made), fire lighting, knot tying, camouflage, environmental awareness and leave no trace principles finishing with campfire smores - yum!
🌊Fossils, Rocks & Ancient Seas
Visitors can enjoy a fascinating journey into the deep past of Northern Ireland.
🎨 Screen printing with artist Imogen Donegan, Artist in Residence at Seacourt Print Workshop
Throughout the day, Imogen will be printing an exclusive bespoke Shorelife design, giving you the chance to create your own unique piece to take home. Bring along your own T-shirt or tote bag to print, or choose from a selection of second-hand T-shirts available to purchase on the day.
📖STEM Storytime: "Tales by the Tide" with Marianne Mc Shane Storyteller
A storytelling journey inspired by the shores, waters and wild places around us.
📽 Strangford on Film
Enjoy a special selection of archive footage celebrating Strangford Lough and its surrounding communities, offering a glimpse into the Lough’s rich heritage and changing landscape.
There are some ticketed activities happening, too - Charges may apply to some bookable activities, on sale now! (T&Cs apply)
🍂 Step into autumn, immerse yourself in the breath-taking beauty of our shoreline.
🚏 Complimentary shuttle bus travel to each of the locations helps take the stress out of travelling.
It's the perfect day out for families and nature enthusiasts 🌿

Find out more about the event 👉 bit.ly/ShorelifeCelebration
Ards and North Down Borough Council | NI Science Festival | Visit Belfast | Discover Northern Ireland | www.whatsonni.com

21/09/2026

Teachers and parents 📢 You have future scientists, engineers and inventors in the making‼️

The Future Focus Schools Challenge gives your KS2 & KS3 pupils the chance to imagine 2050, and design a real practical solution for the challenges to come. With prizes and a showcase event to celebrate the winners and their creations, we can support our newest STEAM inventors 🏆

Get in touch with your school or tag them below👇 Find out more on our website

17/09/2026

We’d like to categorically deny spending the entire NI Science Festival marketing budget putting our logo around Saturn's South Pole...

No further questions at this time. 🪐

15/09/2026

📢 Schools! Are you taking part in our new challenge? 👀

💻 Nerve Centre are delivering a webinar where you will get to meet scientist and award-winning science communicator Dr Ryan McFadden as he introduces you to the MATRIX Future Focus Schools Challenge. 💥

The Future Focus Schools Challenge invites Key Stage 2 and 3 pupils to imagine Northern Ireland in 2050, identify a problem we may face and then design an innovative app, product, service or invention that provides a solution. 💡

During this webinar, pupils will explore some of the big challenges our society could face in the future, and how they can prepare a strong entry for the challenge. Dr Ryan will help them to think like inventors. 🤔

✅ A link to join the live webinar will be sent to registered schools before the event.
📍 Online
🗓️ Wednesday 7 October
⏰ 1.30pm–2.15pm
👉 Register for the webinar now: https://bit.ly/4cDA34D
Delivered in partnership with Matrix NI, Nerve Centre and NI Science Festival

📢 Schools! Are you taking part in our new challenge? 👀

💻 We're delivering a webinar where you will get to meet scientist and award-winning science communicator Dr Ryan McFadden as he introduces you to the MATRIX Future Focus Schools Challenge. 💥

The Future Focus Schools Challenge invites Key Stage 2 and 3 pupils to imagine Northern Ireland in 2050, identify a problem we may face and then design an innovative app, product, service or invention that provides a solution. 💡

During this webinar, pupils will explore some of the big challenges our society could face in the future, and how they can prepare a strong entry for the challenge. Dr Ryan will help them to think like inventors. 🤔

✅ A link to join the live webinar will be sent to registered schools before the event.

📍 Online
🗓️ Wednesday 7 October
⏰ 1.30pm–2.15pm

👉 Register for the webinar now: https://bit.ly/4cDA34D

Delivered in partnership with Matrix NI and NI Science Festival

07/09/2026

🚀 HAPPENING TOMORROW!

What’s possible when we push beyond the limits we think we have?

Join aerospace engineer and endurance athlete Emily Bond at NI Science Café tomorrow as she explores rockets, Ironman, resilience, failure and the science of possibility.

📍 The Black Box, Belfast
📅 Tomorrow, Tues 8 Sept
🎟️ £2 - https://nisciencefestival.com/event/ni-science-cafe-presents-from-rocket-science-to-ironman-exploring-the-realm-of-possibility/

fans Black Box Cathedral Quarter Belfast Belfast City Council Visit Belfast