The British Festival of Space: raising awareness of space in the UK
- Paper number
IAC-05-E1.3.09
- Author
Ms. Anita Heward, British Festival of Space, United Kingdom
- Year
2005
- Abstract
The British Festival of Space is a biennial event that aims to raise the profile of space and astronomy in the UK. The first Festival took place at the University of Surrey, Guildford, in 2003 and the second Festival will take place from 30th June-3rd July 2005 in Birmingham, the UK's third largest city. The 2005 British Festival of Space will run over four days and includes events targeted at the space community, the media, political decision makers, school children in the 10-14 age-group, teachers and the general public. This paper evaluates the success of these two Festivals in carrying out the following objectives: acting as a focal point for the UK's space community and providing a platform to discuss education and outreach; providing a national showcase for space and astronomy resources available to teachers; engaging schools and the public with contemporary space research and development. At the time of writing this abstract, the second Festival has not taken place so results and conclusions cannot yet be reached. However, evaluation will be quantitative, including attendance numbers, PR opportunities generated and coverage received, and qualitative, including feedback from attendees, exhibitors and other participants. As Birmingham City Council is looking at taking space as its theme for 2005, opportunities for raising awareness of space in the host city outside the Festival's scheduled dates will also be reviewed. Planning is underway to hold further a British Festival of Space in Cardiff, Wales, in 2007 and in Greenwich, London, in 2009. The potential impact of Festival as it travels to other cities around the UK in future years is discussed.
- Abstract document