COME FORAGING!
Did you know that dandelion leaves are high in vitamin C and minerals, and the young leaves can be used in salads? That chickweed is rich in magnesium, phosphorus and copper, and can be used like spinach?
HIGHLIGHTS FROM 2019 FAMILY DAY
We moved to a new venue at Kirkwall Grammar School, with a wealth of activities for every one to enjoy, and we had a great turnout of people.
Foraging Fortnight in 2019
We had a great time with the foraging events in the 2019 Festival. They came about through the LEADER-funded initiative covering five Scottish regions, and they added a whole new dimension to the programme, and to the weekends before and after.
EXHIBITIONS 2019
“From Orkney Nature to Murdoch Mackenzie’s beautifully detailed charts of Orkney waters, from Scapa Flow’s history and marine life to sea forms and soundworks …”
Foraging Programme 2019
Foraging Programme 2019 The first Scottish
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.
Opening lunches at the Festival
The Festival often opens with a lunch of Orkney food, to follow the opening talk.
Afternoon tea at Skaill House
The 17th-century mansion close by Skara Brae is the venue for the late Sunday afternoon of the Festival. Built in the 1620s by Bishop George Graham, Skaill House has been cared for and enhanced by its owners over the centuries.
HIGHLIGHTS FROM 2018 FAMILY DAY
How far can a model car run on hydrogen?
The Selkie’s New Clothes
Are inspired by the selkie folklore, shape-shifting beings and their transformative powers. In order to shapeshift they had to cast off their sealskins. Within these magical skins lay the transformative power to return to seal form, and therefore to the sea.
The daily lunches at the Peedie Kirk
Among the highlights of the Festival are the lunches in the Peedie Kirk Hall. It’s an opportunity to enjoy local food, look at works by local artists, and enjoy a chat with friends…
HIGHLIGHTS FROM 2017 FAMILY DAY
You could make a cloud chamber and see particles
EXHIBITIONS 2017
It’s 50 years since the death of Robert Rendall,
The Reel
The Reel on Broad Street is the venue for
FAMILY DAY
The Family Day on the Saturday is one of the highlights of the Festival. Both floors of the King Street Halls in Kirkwall are packed with activities for all ages to try. We seek each year to source an ever-expanding range of activities from across Scotland and the UK, and are constantly delighted by the enthusiastic response.
Highlights from 2016 Family Day
You could find out about living in space, or operate a robot arm. You could make a noisy drawing or a porridge poultice, an ancient animal or a modern molecule.
The Great Molecule Hunt 2019
Twenty shops in and around the town centre will join in to set the challenge. Each shop will have a model of a particular molecule related to its business tucked away somewhere in the window or inside.
Fashion the Future!
The window of a former Orkney clothing shop is back in action with costumes this week. Aislin, Nyx, Nehalennia and Calypso were specially created for the Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design.
Judith Glue
Judith Glue's Real Food Cafe in Broad Street, situated across
Highlights from 2015 Family Day
There were lanterns to light and spectra to study. There were rocks to recognise and molecules to make. You could find out about flowers for native bumblebees, or make a foam fossil fish.
Particle Physics for Scottish Schools
From Maxwell to Higgs The Particle Physics for
Northern Light with Orkney Camera Club
Northern Light with Orkney Camera Club One of
The UK’s Brightest Light Source
Light is crucial to life on Earth. Heat is
Illuminating Geometry
Playing with light and being able to use it to
Open Windows lets the light in
Open Windows lets the light in The
Ernest W. Marwick: writer and scholar
Ernest W. Marwick: writer and scholar Scholar and author,
Highlights from 2014 Family Day
Seeing saltwater creatures and working with natural materials, steering a Mars Rover and making a flying saucer … the Family Day was packed with activities.
Beatrice Works
Imagine you are gazing at a 300 foot high wind turbine being raised from its horizontal position at Nigg Bay, Rosshire, up into the sky, to become a mammoth perpendicular structure, with the aid of giant robotic cranes on either side, men in steel helmets beetling around like ants overseeing the whole operation and keeping it safe from disaster.
Highlights from 2013 Family Day
This was the year when you could handle a meteorite and steer a Mars Rover, try out Stone Age technology and wear an Iron Age hood, join the Dustbin Detectives and the Viking soap carvers, meet an oil production safety team and study life in the sea, learn to card wool and weave threads.
Food at the Festival
Food at the Festival Part of the enjoyment