‘I’ve sailed onst with an Orkney man,
A deal o’ years ago,’ said Dan,
‘In Clay’s old packet, Kubla Khan.’
– Cicely Fox Smith
Photography by Raymond Besant
Westray and Evie pupils catch the wind and meet the challenge
Westray and Evie schools are the winners of the 2022 Blyth Challenge. The Challenge, named after Scottish 19th-century wind energy pioneer James Blyth, set a
FESTIVAL PROGRAMME SCANS PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE
New insights into the origins of bere in Orkney fields, and of potatoes on a high Bolivian plateau. Ship design for Neolithic seas and for polar icy waters today.
Scottish award for Slovenian anniversary tune
A tune specially written by one of Orkney’s best-known fiddle players for a Science Festival Slovenian anniversary has won a national music award.
Following the Festival
Orkney International Science Festival director Howie Firth reflects on seven action-packed days of the 2021 festival – from views of coasts shaped by wave and storm to concerts of music inspired by the stars.
Programme 2021 Announcement
The programme is launching! The sea runs through the Orkney International Science Festival programme in this Year of Coasts and Waters in Scotland, as director Howie
Festival seeks Assistant Director
Orkney International Science Festival is looking for an Assistant Director. It’s a short-term post to the end of September, with the potential for continuation and development of the role into 2022 and beyond.
2020 Festival Going Digital
In the face of the coronavirus pandemic, Orkney International Science Festival is being given a new format for this September. We’re responding to the challenge by joining the growing pattern of home delivery, to bring the entire Festival to everyone who would like to access it, wherever they are.
Prof. Tom Stevenson to open 30th Festival
Prof. Tom Stevenson to open 30th Festival This year’s Orkney International Science Festival will be opened by Prof. Tom Stevenson. He has the unique distinction of
SEA, SHORE AND DISTANT HORIZONS FOR 2020
2020 will be the Year of Coasts and Waters in Scotland and we will have various topics about the sea and islands. We will look at the story of boat-building, and highlight new ideas about how the people of the Neolithic may have built the ships that linked Orkney to other parts of the ancient world, 5000 years ago.
Festival will commemorate Moon landing
Festival will commemorate Moon landing Apollo 11’s 50th anniversary will be commemorated in Orkney in September with a programme of talks on space and astronomy in the islands’ annual science festival.
Science festival gets foraging dimension
Orkney International Science Festival this year will have an added outdoor dimension as it joins forces with a new Foraging Fortnight being established in Scotland.
EXPLORATION, WILDLIFE, ADVENTURE IN 2019 FESTIVAL
There’s an outdoor strand in this year’s programme, going from pole to pole, with Central Asia also to the fore.
Come out foraging with us!
It’s fresh, it’s nutritious, and it’s free! The benefits of foraging is becoming realised, doing what generations of people have done for thousands, indeed millions, of years – finding food in the wild.
PROGRAMME 2018
In this Year of Young People, young people will be very much to the fore in this year’s Festival, with two young Orcadians, Lucy Leech and Hope Laing, carrying out the opening, and a team of young people hosting all the events.
Year of Young People to boost Festival
Music from Ireland, astronomy from Uzbekistan, newly created art and design, and young people to the fore – these will all be features of this year’s Orkney International Science Festival in a special package for the Year of Young People 2018.
PROGRAMME 2017
Walking, voyaging, travelling, exploring – with stories of polar exploration and Norse navigation, building great bridges and probing the seabed – plus a return visit of Nobel laureate Prof. Peter Higgs, are all to the fore in the programme for the 2017 Orkney International Science Festival.
![Part of Gale Crater on Mars [Photo: NASA]](https://oisf.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Part-of-Gale-Crater-on-Mars-460x295.jpg)
FROM ORKNEY TO SPACE: FOR SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITY
Researchers from the University of Edinburgh are joining together with staff from the Royal Observatory of Edinburgh’s visitor centre to visit several schools and give a public presentation in Kirkwall on the evening of Thursday 23 March.
LOST SHIPS, LOST LANDS, AND MIGHTY BRIDGES
The sound of the sea runs through this year’s programme, with topics ranging from ancient Norse navigation to tidal power in Ushant. We have stories of lost ships of
FROM GRAVITATIONAL WAVES TO HERRING DAYS
The amazing discovery of gravitational waves will be to the fore in this year’s programme – along with dark matter, the Northern Lights, Antarctic exploration, dolphin communication, early humans,
Year of Light to shine in Orkney Science Festival
The International Year of Light will provide one of the themes of this year’s Orkney International Science Festival – and the centenary of Einstein’s theory of general relativity will be another.
Clipperton Floating Laboratory Explores Northern Waters
What makes the Clipperton Project’s Floating Laboratory special is the mix of people aboard – scientists, artists, photographers and people promoting the spirit of exploration in tackling the challenges of today’s world.
Discovery Channel scientist to open Orkney Science Festival
Prof. Steve ‘Jake’ Jacobs has written and presented a series for the Discovery Channel, and also for National Geographic TV and Fox Television where he was the creator and on-air host of the series Jake’s Attic.
Record attendances for 2013 Festival
The 2013 Festival had record attendances, with over 200 people at some events. The Family Day was the biggest yet, packed with activities, from marine life to Europe’s Lost World.
Recognise Rae: call for stamp to honour Arctic hero
Recognise Rae: call for stamp to honour Arctic hero A call is being made for a stamp to be issued to honour one of the greatest Arctic explorers of
Cancer: radical new approach to be proposed
A radical new approach to cancer is to be announced in London tomorrow (Wednesday 5 June), in a lecture hosted by the magazine New Scientist.
Can Orkney become a northern gateway?
A radical vision for Orkney’s future has been unveiled. It looks to the potential of two areas of development – marine renewables and a container port in Scapa Flow.
Win a night-sky photo in our new astronomy competition!
Win a night-sky photo in our new astronomy competition! Would you like a night-sky image on your wall, taken by the observatory above? Take part in our
Filmmaker and film from lost city to open this year’s festival
Filmmaker and film from lost city to open this year’s festival One of Britain’s leading documentary filmmakers is to open this year’s Orkney International Science Festival
A great man of science: Professor Archie E Roy
Archibald Edmiston Roy was born in Yoker, Glasgow, on 24 June 1924. His father was a draftsman at John Brown’s shipyard, and he himself originally wanted to be an architect.
Remembering Thora
Our first Honorary Life Member, Thora Bain, died on 22 September, at the age of 95. Thora was one of the greats - a mine of information on Orkney,
