IF Oxford the Science and Ideas Festival

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The Official page for IF Oxford, the Science and Ideas Festival IF Oxford is a science and ideas Festival with in-person and online events 6 - 30 October 2022.

There’s something for everyone, with activities for young children and families, or sessions for teenagers and adults to enjoy alone or as a group from the safety and comfort of home, in venues across Oxford or as on demand online content.

08/10/2026

Glass and chemistry collide this October 🔬✨

Four ways to explore the hidden science behind colour and craft:

1️⃣ 💍 Introduction to Enamelling. Try colourful vitreous enamelling with Lucia Goldsmiths. Make and take home a pendant or keyring, or watch and learn. Lucia Goldsmiths, Summertown, Mon 19 & Mon 26 Oct, from 10am, 3pm

2️⃣ ⚗️ Metals and Colour from the Earth. Extract your own copper, uncover the chemistry behind vibrant glass colours and meet a stained glass maker. Rose Hill Community Centre, Tue 20 Oct, from 6pm

3️⃣ 🌌 Zone ONE. Discover colour chemistry and its earthly origins, among dozens of hands-on activities. Oxford North, Thu 29 Oct, from 2pm

4️⃣ 🔥 Fusing Glass: Becca Rowland. Step inside a working artist’s home studio to see kiln formed glass made, and the chemistry behind its colours. Raleigh House, Harcourt Hill, Sat 31 Oct & Sun 1 Nov, from 12 noon

35 years of connections, at events for everyone, across Oxford and beyond.

Get your tickets now 👉 if-oxford.com 🔭

25/09/2026

Science takes to the stage this October 🎭🔬

Performances that bring science to life, for family audiences and grown-ups alike:

1️⃣ 🌌 Lady Ionosphere: Celebrating Francisca Okeke. A one-act play weaving African cosmology and storytelling to honour physicist Francisca Okeke.
East Oxford Community Centre, Fri 9 Oct, from 6.30pm

2️⃣ 🧠 The Brain Bending Science Illusion Show. Join The Magical Mr West and Crowbert for optical illusions, conundrums and surreal psychology.
Pegasus Theatre, Sun 18 Oct, from 11.30am & 2.30pm

3️⃣ ☁️ Storm-Cloud: Observations of the Sky. Ruskin’s 1884 climate lecture restaged with live performance, projection and a weather soundscape, after dark in the Museum.
Museum of Natural History, Sat 24 Oct, from 7pm

4️⃣ 🐒 Amazing Animals. Can you outsmart a slime mould? Test your instincts against chimps, parrots and dolphins in this interactive science show.
The North Wall Arts Centre, Tue 27 Oct, from 11am & 3pm

35 years of connections, at events for everyone, across Oxford and beyond.

Get your tickets now 👉 if-oxford.com 🔭

23/09/2026

Trust and truth: four adult events for October 🔭💭

Grab a drink and question what you think you know. Four evenings that dig into trust, truth and versions of reality:

1️⃣ 👻 Ghost In the Machine + Director Q&A. Uncovering AI’s hidden history of racism, eugenics and power, with a Q&A with director Valerie Veatch. Ultimate Picture Palace, Tue 20 Oct, from 5.30pm

2️⃣ ☕ Spilling the Tea. Taste teas from around the world while unravelling the histories of empire, trade and resistance behind your daily brew. Fantastea, Wed 21 Oct, from 6pm

3️⃣ 💔 The Breakup Monologues: Artificial Intimacy? Rosie Wilby and Dr Agnieszka Piotrowska explore love and heartbreak in the age of AI. The Bullingdon, Mon 26 Oct, from 7pm

4️⃣ 📢 Weapons of Mass Persuasion: Propaganda during war & peace? Dr Nina Kruglikova and Gretel Kahn compare wartime propaganda then and now. The Bullingdon, Mon 26 Oct, from 8.45pm

Adult events — book ahead.

Get your tickets now 👉 if-oxford.com 🔭

21/09/2026

Hands-on science events for you 🔬🎨
This October, get up close with scientists, artists and inventors.

Four ways to join in:
1️⃣ ✨ EXPLORAZONE’s full day of science, with a quiet first hour for neurodivergent families. New Road Baptist Church, Sat 17 Oct, from 11am
2️⃣ 🔬 Grind rock to release copper and make real silver at Rose Hill Community Centre. Tue 20 Oct, from 6pm
3️⃣ 🎨 Draw wildlife with award-winning artist Alicia Hayden. Westgate Library, Mon 26 Oct, from 2pm
4️⃣ 🚀 Meet scientists and engineers tackling the biggest challenges on Earth and beyond at BLAST! The Barn, Blackbird Leys, Tue 27 Oct, from 11am

35 years of connections, at events for everyone, across Oxford and beyond.
Get your tickets now 👉 if-oxford.com 🔭

17/09/2026

Colour and chemistry events for you 🔬🎨

This October, follow the colour from rock to jewellery box

1️⃣ 🎨 Examine glass chemistry at Modern Art Oxford. Thu 22 Oct, from 6pm

2️⃣ 💎 EXPLORAZONE’s full day of science. New Road Church, Sat 17 Oct, from 11am

3️⃣ 🔥 Enamel your own pendant at Lucia Goldsmiths. Summertown, Mon 19 & 26 Oct, from 10am

4️⃣ 🔬 Grind rock to release copper and make real silver at Rose Hill Community Centre. Tue 20 Oct, from 6pm

35 years of connections, at events for everyone, across Oxford and beyond.

Get your tickets now 👉 if-oxford.com 🔭

09/09/2026

Pick from a hundred events and activities this October in Oxford and beyond: from 🐝🐟🐆 amazing animals to a zombie pandemic 🧟🧟‍♀️🧟‍♂️, at your Festival, for a fortnight, and then some more…

Get your tickets now
👉 www.if-oxford.com 🔭

31/08/2026

Cultural science and ideas events for you, on whole range of topics.

Filter by theme or search by name.

Book tickets for your Festival, for a fortnight, and then some more…

Get your tickets for this October, now

👉 www.if-oxford.com 🔭

29/08/2026

Pick from a hundred events and activities this October in Oxford and beyond: from colour and chemistry to propaganda and AI, at your Festival, for a fortnight, and then some more…

Get your tickets now 👉 www.if-oxford.com 🔭

27/08/2026

Thirty-five years of evolution, through pandemics, resource pressures and massive technological change.

Different venues, different questions, different audiences, but a continued belief that science and creativity are worth sharing.

Come together at IF Oxford, 17–31 October, and with some extra events too, to explore as a community.

— thanks to all the many different types of supporters over the years.

17/04/2026

Expressions of interest for IF Oxford 2026 open until Fri 1 May ⏰

Help create a STEM Festival where hundreds of collaborations connect ideas with real lives, places and questions

Content submission deadline: Tue 2 June

👉 if-oxford.com/get-involved

Address

Oxford

Website

http://www.if-oxford.com/

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