Theme for Science Festival 2025: Spaceship Earth
The 2025 Edinburgh Science Festival [5 to 20 April] will explore the challenges of living on a planet with finite resources, through the lenses of science fiction and space exploration. This is the concept of Spaceship Earth.
The Festival will take place in the year NASA’s Artemis 2 spaceship will orbit the Moon in preparation for astronauts returning to land there. ‘Live like an astronaut’ is the battle cry of a new movement that urges us to learn from the constraints of living on a space station, or a distant planet, where resources are impossibly constrained and every gram of material and watt of energy is precious. Transferring these principles to life on Earth would radically reduce the pressures we place on natural resources.
Spaceship Earth will draw inspiration from a collision between science fiction and science fact, and question how we might better live on Earth. Holding real engineering and science approaches that are here – or coming soon – next to visions of creatives, we will ask audiences: ‘Why not?’. The Festival’s outlook will be broad and consider all elements of our lives: food production; healthcare; energy; materials; communications; travel and more. The Festival will consider the mundane – how to keep the lights on for the next million years; and the exotic – self-diagnosed and administered health care with ‘cyborg’ technologies.
We will look skyward to space stations, rockets and satellites; exploring the latest technological advances involving the burgeoning UK space industry and linking with NASA, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the European Space Agency, the UK Space Agency and the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, for example. And we will look Earthwards to consider the need to re design everyday life to run on less, linking to the main researchers and enterprises pioneering these changes. This will include innovations in energy generation and efficiency, new ways of producing food, new approaches to healthcare, AI and much more.
Join us on our Mission
We believe life is richer with a little more science and technology in it. Each year we produce a world-class Science Festival, support schools to educate young minds, create stimulating on-demand content, advocate for climate and sustainability, undertake community engagement and more, all to put that little extra bit of science and tech into the lives of many.
We do all of this in joyful, inspirational and amazing ways that put discovery and invention at the heart of popular culture, to be enjoyed as effortlessly and as enthusiastically as a good film, show, book or night out with friends.
City Wide
The Science Festival is produced in partnership with some of Edinburgh’s most iconic venues, including the National Museum of Scotland, the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and Dynamic Earth, as well as art galleries, academic and cultural institutions and venues across the city.
Free to access
Every year, half of our content is unticketed and free to access for all. We include exhibitions in high footfall spaces such as the Mound Precinct and Portobello promenade and interactive family activities in the National Museum of Scotland’s Grand Gallery.
Communities and learning
We work year-round building relationships with schools and community groups to deliver a bespoke programme that they find useful and engaging. We offer free curated visits to the Festival for community groups and for over 1,000 schoolchildren who would not otherwise be able to take part.
Family activities
As well as our free content, we create an incredible science playground at the City Art Centre, where children can become engineers, vets, surgeons, inventors, chemists and more. This content changes each year to provide variety for all ages and interests. We also have performances, activities and workshops in our partner venues across the city.
Adult programme
Our programme of adult discussions are delivered in venues like the auditorium in the National Museum for Scotland and focus on topics spanning every area of science, many of them cutting edge. We also deliver more sociable events that include food, drink and entertainment linked to our themes and exhibitions.