Arts give way to science as culture city hosts festival for first time since 1922

HULL, UK’S City of Culture 2017, hosts the British Science Festival for the first time since 1922 this week.

More than 100 talks, demonstrations and performances are planned for the four-day event, which each year attracts thousands of members of the public keen to connect with science.

Topics as varied as artificial intelligence, the end of the universe, and the rise and fall of the dinosaurs will all feature in the programme.

Among the interactive events especially aimed at children will be a robot petting zoo.

Last year’s British Science Festival in Brighton attracted a record 18,500 visitors.

The event has only taken place in Hull twice before, once in 1853 and most recently in 1922.

Ivvet Modinou, the director of the British Science Festival, said: “We are delighted to be bringing the Festival to Hull and the Humber in 2018.

“The University of Hull has a fantastic reputation for its research and scientific excellence, and we’re very excited to be working with the team at the university to create a stunning event to highlight the broad range of talent at the institution.”

The festival, run by the British Science Association, has a long history dating back to 1831.

It was created as a touring venue where scientists could meet, discuss their work, and crucially share their discoveries.

A number of major advances were announced at the events, including the discovery of inert gases and the electron.