Please select the appropriate category below to help plan your visit to Lancashire Science Festival 2020.
If you can’t find the answer you’re looking for then get in touch with the festival team at lancscifest@uclan.ac.uk or 01772 894288.
This section will help you to find answers to general queries about our Public Day.
All activities or shows have been given a recommended lower age suitability based on a number of factors including content, language, the imagery used and prior knowledge required to fully enjoy the event.
All events carry a minimum age recommendation to ensure the best possible experience for all our visitors. This is based on a number of factors including content, language, the imagery used and prior knowledge required. We ask visitors to bear this in mind when choosing activities. All children should be accompanied by an adult at all times.
U Family friendly sessions for all to enjoy
4 + Lots of fun for children who are beginning school
7 + Fun and engaging; content may be too advanced for younger children
11 + These advanced sessions are aimed at older children who are at, or about to start, secondary school
Please contact us if you require any further information about individual events.
Lancashire Science Festival is hosted by the University of Central Lancashire and is based on the Preston Campus.
Follow signs for the University or the yellow AA signage for Lancashire Science Festival. The campus is easily accessible by road, rail and bus.
If you are using a sat nav please use PR1 2HE. Upon arriving please head to the Students Union to check-in.
View a map of the Preston City Campus (opens as PDF document)
Please use public transport if possible. A limited amount of free parking is available on the University’s car parks. You can ignore any University pay and display machines or permit holder only signs. However, please keep disabled bays free for blue badge holders. If parking in public car parks you must follow their payment requirements. Find out where University and public car parks are on the festival map.
Market Hall Car Park, Tenterfield Street, Preston, PR1 2JD
Hill Street Car Park, Hill Street, Preston, PR1 2BB
Trinity Square Car Park, Market Street West, Preston, PR1 2EU
Avenham Car Park, 35 Avenham Street, Preston, PR1 3XA
Walker Street Car Park, North Street, Preston, PR1 2HF
Preston Bus Station Car Park, Tithebarn Street, Preston, PR1 1YT
Euro Car Park, St. Wilfrid Street, Preston, PR1 2US
OCS, St. Mary’s, Marsh Lane, Preston, PR1 2XH
Check out the Traveline Journey Planner to find alternative ways to access the festival.
The festival is open from 9.00am – 4.00pm
Last check-in 3.00pm
Science Showfloors close at 4.00pm
For 2019 we will be running an on-the-day queueing system for all our shows. So there will be no need to book tickets online in advance.
Please arrive at your chosen show 15 minutes before the start time to receive a queue number.
Queue numbers will be issued on a first come, first served basis with entry to shows closing 5 minutes before the advertised start time.
During our Family Day, we will again be running our popular programme of workshops.
Workshops have a much smaller capacity than our live shows.
Tickets for Workshops are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis with tickets being distributed 15 minutes before the start time.
Quiet room
For groups or individuals with special requirements, we have a designated quiet room away from the noise and crowds. This is in the Oasis Faith & Spirituality Centre in the Orange Zone.
All buildings and rooms are accessible and have reserved areas for visitors with mobility issues. If you require assistance, please speak to a Festival Ambassador (they are wearing yellow t-shirts).
Two accessibility buses have been provided to assist those that require mobility support. The buses will travel between the Blue Zone and the Purple Zone. The Blue Zone bus stop can be found on Leighton Street, behind the Foster Building. The Purple Zone bus stop can be found on Adelphi Street, behind the Harrington Building – see the festival map. A bus will leave from each bus stop every half-an-hour starting at 9.30am. The last bus will depart at 4.00pm. Each bus has space for one wheelchair. Prams can be taken onto the bus, but they must be folded.
Great value food and drink is available in lots of venues across the festival. You can find the festival food court at the front of the Foster Building in the Blue Zone. Food and drink is also available in the Foster Building and Harrington Building Refectories where card and cash are accepted. Some food court vendors only accept cash. There are cash machines on campus (outside the Foster and Harrington Buildings). You are welcome to bring packed lunches and we encourage you to bring a water bottle and fill this up at one of the many water fountains across campus.
There are lockers available by the Blue Science Showfloor, in Sir Tom Finney Sports Centre. The locker requires a £1 coin, which is returned after use.
Male, female, and disabled toilet facilities are located in every University building. Gender-neutral toilets are available on the ground floor of the SU building. We also have baby changing facilities in Sir Tom Finney Sports Centre (lower ground floor – just past the reception desk), Venue 53 (in the first aid room on the left), Darwin building (second floor, room 256) and the Oasis Faith & Spirituality Centre. In addition, there are two private breastfeeding rooms available in Darwin building (second floor, room 256) and the Oasis Faith & Spirituality Centre.
Info bands will be provided for all children at check-in. Please make sure to write your name and phone number on the band and put this on your child’s wrist. If you discover your child is missing please alert a Festival Ambassador (wearing yellow t-shirts) or a member of the Festival Event Team (wearing black t-shirts) who will be able to assist you. Staff at any of our Help Huts/Check-in will also be able to help you. Missing children points are located at each Help Hut.
There are three first aid points; these are located at Sir Tom Finney Sports Centre, Harrington Building and The Atrium in the Students Union Building. You can also visit one of our Help Huts to request first aid or speak to any of our festival ambassadors in yellow t-shirts. If you are unable to contact anyone please call 01772 894288 for assistance, and a member of the festival events team will summon a first aider to your location.
Don’t forget to visit one of our Festival Shops located on both Science Showfloors – Purple (Harrington Building) and Blue (Sir Tom Finney Sports Centre) with lots of cool things for children to buy with their pocket money. Science bugs, Lanbot antennas, T-Shirts and more.
Home educated families and those who require additional support who attend on the Family Day on Saturday 29 June are able to book Explorer Passes for the festival.
Contact us to find out how you can obtain an Explorer Pass.
Please be aware that throughout the duration of the festival there will be official photography and filming taking place for marketing and promotion of the Lancashire Science Festival, the University, partner institutions and the festival sponsors. Images or footage may be used in both online and offline publications, public relations and advertising (including social media, brochures, information leaflets, adverts and posters). If for whatever reason you or a member of your group does not wish to be filmed or photographed please make yourself known to the person filming or photographing in the area you are in. For more information please contact lancscifest@uclan.ac.uk or 01772 894288.
The festival team would love to see all your awesome festival photos! The more exciting the better!
Share them on Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #LancSciFest for a chance to win a Blackpool Pleasure Beach Family Pass*. All visitors, staff and students can enter.
The photo which we feel sums up the festival best will win. The deadline for entries is Monday 15 July 2019 and the winner will be announced on Twitter by @lancscifest on or before Monday 22 July 2019.
Read terms and conditions here.
To log on select ‘UCLan-Open’ and sign in using your email address. Share your conversations, photos and videos with #LancSciFest for a chance to win a Blackpool Pleasure Beach Family Pass. Find out more and see terms and conditions at lancashiresciencefestival.co.uk.
Please be aware that there are some road closures around the festival venues. To help you navigate these, we have provided a suggested walking route on the full festival map.
Victoria Street and Maudland Road are not accessible by vehicles, however; pedestrians can still access the roads.
St Peters Square is closed to vehicles and pedestrians.
Infrared hearing systems are in place in ten of our main lecture theatres. To access the system, hearing aid or cochlear implant users will require a receiver device. Please speak to a Festival Ambassador at Check-in for further information.
British Sign Language (BSL) Interpreters
If you require a BSL Interpreter please contact the Festival Team before Friday 21 June to book.
Wellbeing Ambassadors
Do you require help and support getting around the festival? We can provide you with a Wellbeing Ambassador for the duration of your visit. Please contact the Festival Team before Friday 21 June to book.
If you have booked a BSL Interpreter or Wellbeing Ambassador, please make us aware when Checking-in.
We have four Help Huts across campus where you can pop along with your queries and our staff will be able to help you. These are located next to the new Engineering Innovation Centre, behind the Foster building in the garden area, next to Computing and Technology building and next to the Victoria building (look out for Help Hut Icon on our festival maps). Help Huts are also a lost child point, somewhere you can request first aid and a place to collect lost property.
This section will help you to find answers to questions about our Schools Programme which runs on Thursday 27 June and Friday 28 June.
To book your school group’s visit please:
Once you have completed your booking you will receive an automatic receipt via email and you will then be contacted by the Lancashire Science Festival team with further information about your visit in due course.
Packages are based on group sizes of either 20 or 35, which is to include both staff and students. This is the maximum number that can be accommodated in this package, although it is possible to book these if your numbers are slightly less.
Some packages will have multiple iterations, meaning that you may be able to book more than one of the same package if your group size is larger than 35.
To ensure that as many schools as possible are able to visit Lancashire Science Festival we ask that no school bring a group (including staff) of more than approximately 70. Schools who book for more than 70 visitors will have their package cancelled.
You are welcome to bring up to a maximum group size of approximately 70 (including pupils and staff). To do this you will need to book more than one package.
It may be possible to book more than one of the same package (in which case your group will be able to stay together) or you may have to book more than one different package (in which case your group will have to split).
Depending on the number in your group, you will need to book the packages that fit your total group size as closely as possible. For example:
Please contact us if you have any difficulties booking your place.
Lancashire Science Festival is hosted by the University of Central Lancashire and is based on the Preston City Campus.
On Thursday 27 June and Friday 28 June Lancashire Science Festival is open to primary school children at Key Stage 2 only.
For 2019 we are offering arrival times to the festival of either 9.00am-9.30am, or 9.30am-10.00am. It is strongly recommended that you try and arrive between 9.00am-9.30am as this will allow you to fit the most into your day.
There will be a limited number of packages available to accommodate an arrival time of 9.30am-10.00am. If you are expecting to arrive closer to 10.00am then we recommend that you book one of our ‘Extended Showfloor’ packages if available.
To fit in as much as possible into your day, and ensure you see as much as the festival as you can, it is important you arrive promptly. Your school’s programme is tight. Arriving late could mean you miss out on seeing your first session, and this will have an impact on the rest of your day at the festival.
Once your group has arrived it will take approximately 20 minutes to get your group registered.
Yes. Please remember to bring a packed lunch with you. It is strongly recommended that each student carries their own packed lunch in a backpack. Please note that University cafeterias will NOT be open and there will be no time to leave the University to get food.
Rather than having a set lunch break, to ensure that you can fit as much as possible into your day, you will be having a fun ‘Lunchtime Session’ where your group will be able to eat your lunch whilst enjoying one of our exciting shows. A recommendation for your ‘Lunchtime Session’ will be made in your programme, although you are free to eat lunch during whichever session you prefer.
The University of Central Lancashire is fully wheelchair accessible.
If you wish to attend any of our shows or sessions and require seating with a space for a wheelchair, other mobility aid or pram, please inform the Festival Ambassador on arrival at the session and they will reserve seating for you and your group. Please contact the festival team if you require any further information.
If you require a BSL interpreter or have any other special requirements please contact us prior to the festival to arrange necessary support.
For groups or individuals with special requirements, we have a designated quiet room away from the noise and crowds. The quiet room is Harrington Building, second floor, room 214.
If you would like to know more about this, please ask one of the Festival Ambassadors or contact us prior to the festival.
We have a Lancashire Science Festival Shop, where students can purchase souvenirs to remember their special visit. Most items are priced at 50p-£1 each. If you would like your group to visit the shop, please ask your students to bring some spending money with them.
Toilet facilities are located in every University building on the ground floor, and on all other floors of the buildings if required.
If you have lost a student please inform your Festival Ambassador straight away, who will then get in touch with the festival team.
We will send out our overall general festival risk assessment to schools before they arrive, although we do advise schools to complete their own too.
Teachers are welcome to do a site visit before the festival to complete risk assessments. If this is something you would be interested in please email the team and we will send over directions and book you a car parking space.
Please note: we will not be able to facilitate this visit.
Minibuses can drop off and park on the University’s Fylde Road Car Park, Preston, PR1 2XN.
You will be met on the car park by your Festival Ambassador, so please do not leave the car park until this has occurred.
Instead of visiting on the school days where the event is geared up for large sized school groups, we are running Explorer Passes for the Family Day on Saturday 29 June.
The Explorer Passes are exclusively for home educated families. To allow your family the best experience possible we recommend joining us on the Family Day.
However, if our school days on Thursday 27 June and Friday 28 June are your preferred option we will be offering programmes to pre-organised groups of 20+ who, once they have booked as a single group, will be assigned a Student Ambassador as guide for the day.
Please contact the festival team if you would like to sign up for an Explorer Pass.
Smile – you’re on camera! Please be aware that throughout the duration of the event there will be official event photography/filming taking place for marketing and promotional purposes.
These images/footage may be used in both online and offline publications, public relations and advertising (such as social media, brochures, information leaflets, adverts, posters and other formats) for the promotion of the University and of University courses at its partner institutions.
If any of your pupils do not wish to be included in these, please make sure your festival ambassador aware of this upon arrival and ‘no media permissions’ paper wristbands will be distributed to ensure professional photographers can identify which students don’t have permissions.
To log on select ‘UCLan-Open’ and sign in using your email address. Share your conversations, photos and videos with #LancSciFest.
The Lancashire Science Festival is a community event organised and hosted by the University of Central Lancashire’s Communications and Engagement team.
Follow us on Twitter for updates @LancSciFest
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