Highlights of the Somerscience Festival 2024

 The second Somerscience Festival, held in Haynes Sparkford, Castle Cary and Bruton in Somerset on May 6th 2024, was a vibrant and engaging STEM-filled family day. It was the perfect opportunity for children and adults alike to learn about science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and explore the various STEM-based careers and industries that are available in Somerset.

Photographs ©️ Garfield Austin

We welcomed over 5400 visitors

The festival welcomed over 5400 visitors across Castle Cary and Bruton. Just under half (42%) of visitors were young people aged between 4 and 18 years of age.

There were 93 exciting activities to enjoy provided by 67 participating STEM organisations.

More than 63% of visitors to Somerscience came from rural Somerset postcodes, filling a big gap for this underserved population. Visitors also travelled from neighbouring Bristol, Wiltshire, Dorset, Devon and even as far afield as London, Derby and Kent”

Visitors highly rated the festival

Visitors had the chance to take part in exciting hands-on STEM activities, learn from professionals in STEM-related fields, watch live demonstrations, and discover inspiring projects.

People of all ages found something to enjoy at the festival, making it a fun and educational experience for the entire family. 99% of the visitors surveyed rated the festival ‘good’ or ‘very good’ and 92% agreed they would recommend the festival!

Visitor Quotes

Helped improve STEM understanding

One of the aims of the Somerscience Festival is to help positively change attitudes towards STEM and STEM careers by increasing engagement with STEM activities. We are pleased to report 85% of visitors felt the festival gave them a better understanding of STEM and 73%  a better understanding specifically of STEM careers. 86% felt the festival had a positive impact on their belief that STEM is relevant to their daily life.

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Science In All Its Guises

Visitors to Somerscience this year were able to explore the worlds of oceanography, robotics, aerospace, health science, sustainable energy, Earth science, cyber security, medical engineering, agricultural engineering, meteorology, veterinary science, food processing and much much more!

For more details and to get a taster of Somerscience festival 2024, see the programme of activities booklet or visit our YouTube channel. We hope to bring even MORE to Somerscience 2025. Watch this space!

Bringing The Somerset STEM Community Together

Somerscience 2024 hosted 268 STEM professionals from 67 organisations that included Nikon, Leonardo, Honeywell, EDF Hinkley Point C, Royal Navy, Numatic, Thales, Tata, NHS and many more! All enjoyed the opportunity to network with their peers across the sector. Volunteers – local residents, students, company employees – gave 2058 of their free time hours to making the festival happen and over 50 local people took part on the day to assist. Schools took part in the Somerscience Digital Challenge in the run up to the day and families were drawn in their hundreds by the prospect of a fun and educational day out.

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