OISF 2014

Images from two of the Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell's favourite walks, near Parton in Galloway, where the Lair Burn and the River Urr run close to his house of Glenlair. Jennifer Austin's composition, Maxwell's Light, accompanies Selena S.

Vistas of earth, sea and sky opened up in 2014, with a look into Orkney’s geological past as a great lake in Devonian times, and then a look further back in time to the origins of the universe and of life itself with one of the great astrophysicists of our time, Prof. Chandra Wickramasinghe.

Make it Egilsay, said Howard Buxton from New Zealand. Sail with the Selkie to the island where St Magnus was executed and explore.

Songs of strength and struggle, of women north and south, with stories as well, set the scene in an eve-of-Festival concert; and there were stories from many places – from William Balfour Baikie’s exploration of the River Niger to James Clerk Maxwell’s probing into the nature of light.

Seeing saltwater creatures and working with natural materials, steering a Mars Rover and making a flying saucer … the Family Day was packed with activities.

When you sample the local fare at some of the Festival events, you may wonder where you can buy some to take home with you. There’s now a solution – a new pocket guide to some of Orkney’s ‘Peedie Producers’.

A new CD bringing together Scottish and Slovenian musicians and storytellers is to be launched in Orkney on 3 September.

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.

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.