If you can’t find the answer you’re looking for then get in touch with the festival team at lancscifest@uclan.ac.uk
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
We run 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 no earlier than 15 minutes before the show start time on a first come, first served basis with entry to shows closing 5 minutes before the advertised start time.
During our Public Day, we will again be running our popular programme of workshops.
Workshops have a much smaller capacity than our live shows.
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).
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 accessible 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.
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 Public Day.
Please contact the Festival Team if you would like to sign up for 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
To log on select ‘UCLan-Open’ and sign in using your email address. Share your conversations, photos and videos with #LancSciFest
Please be aware that there may be some road closures around the festival venues and more information can be found on the University’s Masterplan webpage here
British Sign Language (BSL) Interpreters
If you require a BSL Interpreter please contact the Festival Team.
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.
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.
All the buildings on the University of Central Lancashire campus are completely accessible.
For further information on building access, please refer to Access Able.
This section will help you to find answers to questions about our Schools Programme.
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, 40 or 80, 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.
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 80. Schools who book for more than 80 visitors will have their package cancelled.
You are welcome to bring up to a maximum group size of approximately 80 (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:
Lancashire Science Festival is hosted by the University of Central Lancashire and is based on the Preston City Campus.
The Lancashire Science Festival is open to primary school children at Key Stage 2 only.
Please remember you will need 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.
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 etc, 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 Public Day on Saturday 27 June.
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.