Glasgow Science Festival 2023

Glasgow Science Festival was on the horizon from Thurs 1st to Sun 11th June, with our theme of ‘Glasgow’s Looking Forward’. During our 17th annual festival, people enjoyed futuristic activities and events, including a six-metre-wide floating vision of the entire Earth, physics lessons with trapeze artists, virtual reality (VR) tours of the human body, a Dungeons & Dragons style show through futuristic Glasgow and a celebration of Govan’s ‘Wee Forest’. You can see some images from these events in the slideshows below. 

We have kept our popular 'Science on the Sofa' digital programme, so folks from across the world could join us online from the 1st June to 30th June.

Here are some of the highlights from our festival report. Below, meet some of the wonderful people who created and delivered content for GSF23.

Summary image of the statistics from GSF23. 103,183 participants, 68029 in person & 35154 online, 139 schools. 83 in person & 29 online events featuring 794 activities. 98% of events were free, 98 partner organisations, 45 venues. 18417 unique visitors from 74 countries to GSF website, 28.4% glasgow, 16.6% rScot, 25.8% rUK, 32.8% rWorld. 679 partner staff & students, 9612 volunteer hours.

With thanks to our headline sponsors University of Glasgow and the Scottish Government. Thanks to the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council Impact Acceleration Account (EPSRC IAA) for funding GSF at the Riverside, and Scottish Book Trust for funding One Button Benny at Riddrie Library.  

Cartoon poster image for GSF23 Glasgow's Looking Forward. Image shows a yellow path through a field with trees and wind turbines. Surrounding the path is a group of people with a variety of scientific objects such as telescopes, microscopes, test tubes and drones. In the sky is an ecoship and the GSF logo.

GSF23 Wrap-Up

GSF23 Wrap-Up

Watch the wrap-up video for Glasgow's Looking Forward featuring footage from the Riverside Museum, Botanic Gardens, Govan's Wee Forest and more. 

Interviews with GSF director Dr Deborah McNeill, content providers Dr Carol Trager-Cowan, Frances Tracey & Dr George Loumakis, and members of the public. 

A selection of some GSF 23 events

83 events across 11 days in June 2023 made up Glasgow Science Festival 2023. Partners from 13 different organisations hosted these events across the city and beyond including: University of Glasgow, University of Strathclyde, Kelvin Hall, Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society, Glasgow Science Centre, University of the West of Scotland, Boom! Community Arts, Community Circus Paisley and more. 

Here are just a few highlights below. 

 

GSF thanks all partners who help organise these events including venue hosts, content providers and everyone behind the scenes. 

GSF23 Highlights

GSF23 Highlights

Text reads: Glasgow Science Festival Meets...' in the bottom left corner is the Glasgow Science Festival logo and in the bottom right corner is the artwork for Glasgow's Looking Forward, the theme for 2023.

Meet some of the amazing people who delivered events during GSF

GSF2023 Online Content

You can still enjoy a range of activities and talks from GSF23 Science on the Sofa, available on our YouTube channel

Glasgow Science Festival at the Riverside Museum

We had an 11 day run at the Riverside Museum from 1st to 11th June. Ten organisations including the University of Glasgow, Glasgow Caledonian University, University of Strathclyde, University of Edinburgh, Glasgow Science Centre and the Scottish Government provided 32 different activities. The activities were designed to support the festival theme of 'Glasgow's Looking Forward' through topics such as innovation, technology and biology. 

Glasgow Science Festival at the Glasgow Botanic Gardens

We had a six day run at the Glasgow Botanic Gardens from 3rd to 8th June. 11 organisations including the University of Glasgow, Glasgow Caledonian University, University of Strathclyde, University of Stirling, Cancer Research UK Beatson Institute and the Scottish Government provided 22 different activities. The activities were designed to support the festival theme of 'Glasgow's Looking Forward' through topics such as nature & environment, medical research and sustainability. 

Glasgow Science Festival at the Kelvingrove Museum

We spent the final two days (11th & 12th June) of the festival at the Kelvingrove Museum & Art Gallery. Glasgow Science Festival and the Open University joined forces to provide eight different activities. The activities were designed to support the festival theme of 'Glasgow's Looking Forward' through topics such as social sciences, future space missions and the human body.