Come out to the West Shore for four family-friendly activities. Learn to identify seaweeds and make your own seaweed artwork. Forage for pigments and mark-making materials – and for seaweeds and plants, and build a beach fire to cook a foraged lunch. Search for fire flints and clays, and make
At 10 am, 12 pm, 2 pm Come along on a one-hour guided snorkel of Stromness's piers to discover life beneath the waves. Inspired by Stromness Museum's summer exhibition 'Living Wrecks: The Marine Life of Scapa Flow'. Suitable for age 10 and above. Supported by divers from Scapa Scuba. £15, with booking essential: contact Scapa Scuba 01856 851218 or at diving@scapascuba.co.uk. Funded by Museums Galleries Scotland
Conducted by Revd Fraser Macnaughton. Guest Preacher Revd Dr Gareth Leyshon, parish priest with a doctorate in astrophysics, and St Magnus Cathedral Choir.
Divers will bring a range of marine life up to the pier to let visitors call by to get a closer look. Everything will then be returned to its habitat. Free drop-in event, and booking not required. All children must be accompanied by an adult. Funded by Museums Galleries Scotland
Now that the wrecks of Sir John Franklin’s ships Erebus and Terror have been found in Arctic waters, we can for the first time ask the question: how accurate were the various suggestions for where to seek them? Some of them, says polar historian Dr Maria Pia Casarini, were distinctly wrong; while others were surprisingly right. In association with the John Rae Society
When Assiepattle killed the Stoor Worm, he didn’t only win the hand of the king’s daughter; he also expressed a deep insight about the nature of the universe. Tom Muir tells the old Sanday story, Ragnhild Ljosland shows the Norse connection, Howie Firth explores the physics of dead dragons, and Orkney Children’s Theatre Club bring it all to unforgettable life. No dragons will be harmed in the performance.
Science has succeeded remarkably in discovering the nature of the building blocks of living systems – molecules and atoms, protons and electrons – but what can it say about life itself? Surprisingly little so far, says Prof. Ron Cottam of the Free University of Brussels in Belgium – but as he explains in a new book, a starting-point can be the study of complex systems, and particularly the hierarchy inherent in life.
Birch-flavoured breadsticks with pine-shoot dipping sauce, salt-marinated char with mountain sorrel sauce, and chocolate pralines with brandy-pickled rowan berries…. Eva Gunnare lives in Jokkmokk in Swedish Lapland, foraging in summer for Arctic herbs and berries in the mountains and forests around, and blending traditional recipes with modern creations – with some tasters for you to try. In association with the John Rae Society
A new look at the deep past of the western and northern isles – the disintegration of the ice, the growth of a western forest and its survival through a 1500-year return to cold and the creation of islands by the rising oceean. Where did the plants and animals come from? Steve Webster from the Western Isles examines new evidence and suggests fresh possibilities.
Listen to the sounds of Stromness – the wind, the gulls, the sea … Come on a guided soundwalk exploring the town through links to the Stone Fringe Sound exhibition in Northlight Gallery. Pay what you feel (it could be £5/2.50 if you like). Book in advance: the route can be tailored to suit access requirements.Book online or 01856 851 743. You can also book for 5.30 pm soundwalks on Thursday 5th, Friday 6th, and Saturday 6th.
Dr John Cumming Memorial Lecture Born in Kirkwall 150 years ago this year, Sir John S. Flett became director of the Geological Survey of Great Britain. Dr John Flett Brown tells the story of the man and his work, which included much study of the igneous rocks of Orkney and the Old Red Sandstone. Followed by an Orkney afternoon tea. Tickets £10. With the support of the Cuminga Trust
Theme – the 50th anniversary of setting foot on the Moon – drawing on Carl Sagan’s writings about the exploration of space. The Mayfield Singers and Paisley Abbey organist George McPhee, with readings by Gerda Stevenson and Dave Grieve.
Festival Club at The Reel
