Orkney Camera Club respond each year to the Festival theme, and this year had an even bigger challenge – to do so online; and they have responded in splendid style. Their exhibition Orkney’s Coastal Waters is a delight, as you can see by going to it on the Artsteps site.
The exhibition ‘Ian Scott – a retrospective’ can be seen online at the Artsteps site. Online exhibitions use a lot of computer memory, so it is best to make sure first that all other applications are shut down, and it can take a little time to load. To start with, just clicking on an image is the simplest way around, moving from each one to its neighbour, and then furthermore possibilities can be found.
Katy Firth in association with Stromness Museum has put together an exhibition of 360 degree photospheres of a visit to the island. With each of the images, you can turn it round a full 360 degrees, to see the full range of views from your vantage point. You can go direct to the exhibition, and she is also going to provide online guidance as to how to make the best use of it.
Neolithic mariners in north-west Europe may have employed a fundamental nautical engineering principle, says Dr Mark Cooper of the University of Washington, Seattle – sailing with ballast. Using a long, knife-shaped megalith as the central hull of a trimaran would have increased stability, as well as speed and cargo-carrying capacity.
From one of the industries traditionally most dominated by men come stories of an 18th-century shipwright, a 19th-century propeller designer, a pioneer marine engineer and a WW2 shipyard electrician – and all of them women. Their newly-discovered histories are revealed by engineering historian Dr Nina Baker, who was herself a Merchant Navy deck officer, and highlights the role of women in engineering today.
Plan your own Orkney lunch in advance from our downloadable recipe brochure, with links to Orkney suppliers. Then at 1 o’clock tune in to the Science Festival YouTube channel to hear St Andrews University researcher Dr Saana Isojunno describe her analysis of orca sightings from observers across Orkney and Shetland. Chef Sam Britten will highlight Orkney foraged plants for a midday menu. Eric Walker speaks about “The Wanderers” in the night sky. They’ll round off at 1.15 pm and join us for lunch around one of our online tables.
Join Selena S Kuzman and Anthony Harley on their day adventure to the Moray coast, hunting for beach treasures, with images of the sea. Learn how to make a selkie’s ghost net bracelet from washed-ashore pieces of fishing nets, amongst other examples of finding creative uses for reclaimed coastal waste.
Will it be in Sutherland or Shetland, or both? Dr Matjaž Vidmar of the Royal Observatory Edinburgh speaks to some of those involved in the plans for Tongue and for Unst.
Orcadians working for the Hudson’s Bay Company over its three and a half centuries have had to use a wide range of vessels – York boats and canoes, ocean-going ships and paddle-steamers on lakes and rivers. Naval architect Dennis Davidson and former boatbuilder Len Wilson tell the story of the boats and the design principles behind their success.
The story of the gases in the atmosphere, their interactions with each other and with us, and the way they affect life on the planet, with colourful practical illustrations. This lecture/demonstration by Tim Harrison and Prof. Dudley Shallcross of the University of Bristol has been given in 31 countries, from the US and China to Australia and New Zealand, to over 2500 audiences. Supported by the Atmospheric Chemistry Research Group at the University of Bristol
Award-winning wildlife cameraman and photographer Raymond Besant takes us on a tour of Orkney's coast, from cliffs and geos to sandy beaches, and the varied birds and mammals who live and feed there in a world of wild weather, orcas, otters, seabirds and seaweed.
High on a mountain in Colombia’s Sierra Nevada, the Kogi are among the very few indigenous people to survive contact with the western world. Despite their isolation, they have a deep concern with what we are doing to the Earth. In a film made by Alan Ereira, From the Heart of the World (1990), they warned of the danger. With growing concern, the initiated a second film with him, Aluna the Movie (2012), in which they sought to share some of their ways of thinking with western scientists, to find a solution to the deeper causes of the problem. What response have they had? Can indigenous and modern knowledge be brought together to repair damaged landscapes? Alan Ereira in conversation brings the latest news and answers questions, along with zoologist Prof. Alex Rogers of REV Ocean and Oxford University.
Round off the day with some music at The Reel, and the opportunity to take a break and join a table to meet up with old and new friends and exchange news, and some of the speakers from today’s events as well.
A science festival has a radical role in developing a creative climate for a region. Here is the story of how it began, and how Orkney was involved from an early stage in the concept.
