The EDF Energy Arena, all set for the festival…

Wednesday is the first day of The Times Cheltenham Science Festival and this year’s festival promises to be the biggest and the best yet.

On Tuesday afternoon, stands were built, marquees went up, lights were tested and the numerous staff and volunteers were running around like crazy! There is certainly a real buzz of excitement here at the Town Hall and with more venues and more live events than ever before there is much to be excited about.

Why not get yourself down here for the start of the festival?

Events to catch today

Today in To Jab or Not to Jab? at 4pm, you can learn about vaccinations — are they safe and should we always accept them? Or, if national debt worries you, check out Is debt putting British Science at risk? at 6.30pm for the opportunity to discuss with the expert panel what funding for scientific research in Britain could look like under our new Government.

If you’re local to Cheltenham, you may want to know what makes The Perfect Racehorse at 4.30pm. Next time you’ll pick that winning horse based on science! And if you’ve been at work all day, what better way to unwind in the evening than to find out how computers have changed our lives in Computer Domination at 9pm. Imagine how different your job would have been 50 years ago…

Free… at the Discover Zone

There is so much to see and do for free at The Times Cheltenham Science Festival. Have you ever fancied yourself as a TV presenter? Get yourself down to the Discover Zone at the Town Hall and try your hand at presenting the weather with the Met Office. You will see yourself on screen and can discover what climate change might do to the weather forecast of the future.

We can’t wait to see you here!

Sue Harris is our reporter in residence at the festival this year. Sue is a science writer and communicator based in London. She has a background in the healthcare industry and medical writing, although her experience spans a broad range of scientific subjects and she enjoys communicating science face-to-face. www.susanmharris.com

Photographs by Conor Cahill

Plus, you’ll save on any last minute tickets you’d like to buy for the festival, enjoy a members’ only session at the Discover Zone and receive free entry to our exclusive members’ enclosure.

All this in addition to ticket discounts and priority booking at all four festivals, now including Science 2011!

Join today

• Save £5 when you choose Direct Debit: apply online
• Visit the members’ enclosure — in Imperial Gardens — at the Science Festival
• Call the box office on 0844 576 7977

More about the Cheltenham Festivals Membership Scheme

Stuck in a jam?

Spending too much time behind the wheel not moving? Wishing the train would stop at a station nearer to you and have room to sit comfortably? The future of Britain’s over stretched transport systems and technologies being developed to address the challenges are being discussed in our event Intelligent Transport. The government’s chief technology officer Brian Collins will be joined by a panel of experts to discuss the innovative, and sometimes controversial, approaches being proposed. Tickets are being snapped up for this event — Don’t get left behind!
More about event S9, Intelligent Transport

Guilt free motoring?

Self confessed ‘petrol head’ and now electric vehicle convert Robert Llewellyn along with an eminent panel of experts explore the exciting new world of electric vehicles and why the image of the sedate milk float is far from the truth! Join us for a glimpse of the silent future of motoring in Electric Dreams: The Future of Cars.
More about event S94, Electric Dreams: The Future of Cars

Cheltenham Open Studios are exhibiting at The Times Cheltenham Science Festival.

Members of the studios have created a series of works around the festival theme of decadence. Catch up with the free exhibition at the Town Hall and in the Waterstone bookshop tent. The work will be on show throughout the festival from 9–13 June. Put it on your list of things to do at the Science Festival this year!

Curated by Cheltenham Open Studios, in conjunction with the The Times Cheltenham Science Festival.

Cheltenham Open Studios need your help — their full size Elizabethan dress sculpture needs its finishing touches.

To complement our Elizabethan morning, which features a talk on Elizabethan gardens by Trea Martyn (event M3) and a performance by the Musicians of the Globe (event M4), Cheltenham Open Studios are inviting you to experience frolicking and fantasy as you lavish a dress in all the exquisite detail of the Elizabethan era!

Sift through memorabilia celebrating the glory of the era’s gardens, the first theatres, the madrigal and the masque, not forgetting the amazing musical instruments and the great composers of the day such as Campion, Tallis and Holborne.

Curated by Cheltenham Open Studios, in conjunction with the HSBC Cheltenham Music Festival.

Operation! is a series of events being held at The Times Cheltenham Science Festival. Penelope Chapple, LabOratory Project Manager, gives us an insider’s view of what to expect.

Most of us never get the chance to actually see inside an operating theatre, let alone watch an operation on the go — Casualty on a Saturday night is the closest we get! So… we’re thrilled to bring you a simulated operating theatre with the chance to see the operating team at work and even have a go at a minor procedure yourself.

Have a go!

The simulated operating theatre is a cutting edge piece of kit that has been developed by a team at Imperial College, London. Its primary purpose is to provide training for junior doctors, expect to be suitably impressed — bleeping machines, intense lighting, fake blood.

Operation demos

Drop in to the LabOratory Tent across the festival weekend and see the operating team in action. They will be carrying out an emergency operation so this is your chance to see what is involved, get a feel for what an operating theatre is like in the flesh and put your questions to the operating team. And what’s more — it’s absolutely FREE!

About LabOratory

The Operation events have been created by LabOratory — an exciting project bringing biomedical science to life at all four Cheltenham Festivals.

Find out more… Operation events part of LabOratory.

Join the Cheltenham Festivals Membership Scheme while the Jazz Festival’s on and we’ll give you a free CD featuring festival artists — while stocks last!

Plus, you’ll save on coffee, cocktails and food at the fabulous D’FLY dome, enjoy discounts on any last minute jazz tickets you’d like to buy and receive free entry to our members’ enclosure.

All this in addition to ticket discounts and priority booking at all four festivals, now including Jazz 2011!

Join today

• Save £5 when you choose Direct Debit: apply online
• Visit the Members’ Enclosure — opposite the Budvar stage — at the Jazz Festival
• Call the box office on 0844 576 7977

More about the Cheltenham Festivals Membership Scheme

Terms and conditions

1. One free CD will be given to all new members, while stocks last.
2. The CD will be given at the time of joining at the members’ enclosure, or sent in the post for online, phone and postal applications.
3. No cash alternative will be given.

Accompanied school groups can experience the thrill of live music across the entire HSBC Cheltenham Music Festival programme — absolutely free.

• Check out the music events or music brochure online
• Fill out the Free for Schools booking form

This offer is, of course, subject to availability.

Ever wanted to learn to play to the piano like Jamie Cullum? Or get back into playing the drums?

This year, Barclays Cheltenham Jazz Festival has partnered with Yamaha to host a series of free group workshops where you can learn to play a range of Yamaha instruments whilst at the festival. Instruments include bass guitars, electric drum pads and electronic keyboards.

Just come along

Come down to the Playhouse Theatre on the day and sign up for a free 30-minute workshop, where a Yamaha-endorsed teacher will guide you through some great music.

Saturday 1 May

The Playhouse Theatre 3pm, 4pm and 5pm (30 minute sessions)

Sunday 2 May

The Playhouse Theatre 2pm, 3pm, 4pm 5pm and 6pm (30 minute sessions)

Are you a qualified engineer?

Keen to share your passion for your subject with the public?

Would you like FREE training in public engagement from some of the world’s top trainers?

Then why don’t you apply to join us at The Times Cheltenham Science Festival.

The Times Cheltenham Science Festival, with support from the Royal Academy of Engineering, is offering 12 engineers an intensive programme, including practical training in presentation and communication skills, plus the chance to deliver events at the festival to both adults and children, with full support from experienced presenters and trainers. You’ll also be able to attend events and network with the world-class engineers, scientists and presenters who come the festival.

You must be over 21, and a qualified engineer working or studying in the UK. You don’t need any experience of talking to the public, but we do want to see evidence that you’re interested in public engagement.

This is a five-day training programme — you must be available from June 9–13 — with no other commitments.

How to apply

To apply fill in our online application form. We’ll telephone shortlisted applicants in the week beginning May 10 and you will know later that week whether you have been selected. If you have any questions, please call Timandra Harkness on 07958 988689 or Sharon Bishop on 01242 775824.

“Unquestionably the leading Science Festival in the country.”

Professor Lord Winston

About the Science Festival

The Times Cheltenham Science Festival is a five-day celebration of science, engineering and the arts. A rare opportunity for the public to come face-to-face with around 300 of the world’s leading scientists, engineers and thinkers, the festival annually sells in excess of 23,000 tickets whilst the free interactive Discover Zone attracts over 10,000 visitors. The five day festival promises a mix of serious debate, live experiments and surprising discoveries all based at Cheltenham Town Hall.

This year’s Guest Directors Heston Blumenthal and Brian Cox are joined by an exciting line-up of top speakers including author Bill Bryson, Chief Scientific Adviser to the Government John Beddington, President of Virgin Galactic Will Whitehorn, comedians Robin Ince and Ben Miller and a host of Royal Academy of Engineering Fellows, such as Public Engagement Fellow David James, Chair of the Olympic Delivery Authority John Armitt, and Honorary Fellow Professor Lord Winston.