British Science Festival
19 September 2026
Event details
The British Science Festival is Europe’s longest standing science festival, travelling to a different place in the United Kingdom annually.
This year, the British Science Association and the University of Southampton are pleased to announce that the British Science Festival for 2026 will take place in Southampton. The festival will be held over five days with events due to take place in venues across the city between 16 – 20 September. The programme will feature roughly 100 free events, exhibitions, performances and installations that celebrate the people, stories and ideas at the heart of science.
The following are due to take place at Mayflower Studios on 19 September.
We are delighted to be partnering with the University of Southampton, John Hansard Gallery, Turner Sims and the British Science Association on this incredible festival.
The British Science Festival is a free event, but tickets are required.
Venue
Mayflower Studios
Price
Events
The Cambridge First All-Ladies Fire Brigade
Studio 1 | 6pm | Approx. 1 hour 30 mins without an interval
Physicist. Inventor. Activist. It’s time to meet the most significant British scientist you’ve never heard of.
Follow Hertha Ayrton and four other groundbreaking women as they study science at Girton College, Cambridge in the 1880s. When fire threatens their College, this unlikely crew starts the first all-female fire brigade. Struggling against the elements – and sexism – in Cambridge, they begin to realise that there’s a bigger battle they need to fight: for equal rights to education, work, and the vote. Even if it means starting a few fires themselves…
Inspired by real events, The Cambridge First All-Ladies Fire Brigade is a fiery new musical about friendship, rebellion, and choosing action over silence.
This will be a concert performance of the show in development, created for the British Science Festival with support from Mayflower Studios.
Written by Helen Arney, Brian Mackenwells and Jenni Pinnock, with support from Birmingham Hippodrome and Lincoln Arts Centre
Have I Got Science For You?
Studio 2 | 4pm | Approx. 1 hour without an interval
Welcome to the most scientifically accurate gameshow of 2026!
Think University Challenge, but make it funny, and you get Have I Got Science For You? Five scientific researchers from five different UK universities will compete to break down the biggest and most bizarre science stories of the year. Get ready for laughs, silliness and chaos as we discover the truths and myths behind the headlines, what the science actually means, and why it really matters.
Who will come out on top and be crowned Science Nerd of the Year? You decide!
Generate: Creative Responses to AI Research
Studio 2 | 7.30pm | Approx. 1 hour
Mayflower are excited to be working with the University of Southampton to create an evening of work to be showcased as part of the British Science Festival. Local artists have been commissioned to develop creative responses to pieces of academic research on the topic of Artificial Intelligence.
The artists are developing their work in conversation with researchers from the University of Southampton. These researchers come from a range of departments such as Health Sciences, Archaeology and Music, but Artificial Intelligence plays a central role within all of their individual research projects.
This project offers an opportunity for the findings from leading research to be shared with an audience, and for the real-life, human impacts of Artificial Intelligence to be explored. The British Science Festival provides an exciting moment of collaboration between the scientific and creative sectors and increases connectivity between local Southampton organisations.
Laughter: The Lab Report
Studio 3 | 1.30pm | Approx. 1 hour
Comedy is more than just a laughing matter.
Join Comedy Lab UK to explore humour as a tool for wellbeing, connection and a better understanding of yourself. Get stuck into whimsical writing and creative play in a low-stakes environment and experience how comedy can help reframe difficult experiences, reduce tension, and build resilience. No experience required, and there is no pressure to perform. The space is inclusive and created to prioritise curiosity and enjoyment.
Uncover a deeper understanding of how comedy can support mental and emotional wellbeing. After all, they say laughter is the best medicine.
Eye Can Play
Studio 3 | 5pm | Approx. 1 hour
What if making music didn’t require your hands?
Meet EyeLa, a VR rhythm game controlled through eye movement. Alongside Chi Ying Lam (Faculty of Arts and Humanities, University of Southampton) and Lee Cheng (Anglia Ruskin University), play the game and discover a whole new way of making music. Through shared insights, gameplay and discussion, experience how innovative technologies can support learning, creativity and inclusion. You are invited, not only to play, but to explore how to build fairer and more expressive classroom environments, particularly for children with special educational needs and disabilities.
This event is one part of a two-part event series investigating accessible ways of making music with your eyes.
Eye Can Make Music
Café Bar (Drop-in session) | 12pm – 5pm
Music is for everyone.
At least, that’s what Chi Ying Lam (Faculty of Arts and Humanities, University of Southampton) and Lee Cheng (Anglia Ruskin University) believe. And they don’t just believe it – they are working hard to make it a reality. Join them to see how you can make music with your eyes. Bringing together eye-tracking technology and virtual reality, they’re opening a new world of accessible music-making. Have a go yourself and enter a playful and creative musical experience for people of all abilities.
It’s time to blink a beat.
This event is one part of a two-part event series investigating accessible ways of making music with your eyes.
The Cheek Of It!
Café Bar (Drop-in session) | 12pm – 6pm
We are made of cells but do cells make us who we are? Catherine McColgan explores this question in a zine-making drop-in.
Each of us are made from over a trillion cells, both human and microbial, all of which look almost identical from person to person. But zoom out and we can see that all of us are different and unique. Taking cells from your own cheek and a microscopic view, interrogate what it means to be human from a different perspective, using science to reflect on our existence as an ecosystem of microbes.
View yourself through lenses of creativity and curiosity and see how you are more than just the sum of your parts.
