Whether you're a family, adult or young person, there's something for everyone at this weekend's Great Exhibition Road Festival.
The Great Exhibition Road Festival will run from 17-18 June 2023 as Imperial College London and South Kensington's great museums and cultural organisations present their inspiring work to members of the public.
This year's festival theme of 'awe and wonder' will be displayed through a mix of talks, workshops and hands-on activities that give a glimpse of the future of technology and showcase the incredible breakthroughs of today.
The Festival will feature multiple zones to explore – read on to find out more.
For adults
The Creative Science zone (for ages 18+) will be an oasis for adults in the middle of a busy festival, where science meets art to create a truly inspiring experience. The Creative Science Lates will run until 8pm on Saturday night, with workshops, installations and live music.
Future Food Live - the Festival's first ever demo kitchen, where top chefs create dishes before your eyes. Try climate-friendly plates and find out how insects and wrinkled peas can be a secret source of protein and explore the amazing links between science and cooking.
At the Moments of Wonder talks series, hear about momentous moments in time that captivated, inspired and mesmerised. Some of the highlights include:
- 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Revealing Earth's final frontier - Helen Sharman, Britain's first astronaut
- The Brain on Drugs – Professor David Nutt
- The Moon and Me with Imperial alumnus Dr Maggie Aderin Pocock
Paint Lab will see one of London's most famous roads become a colour-filled live art gallery. Artists will create large-scale artworks inspired by Imperial's research into everything from new medicine to our future relationship with machines.
For families
Sunday is Father's Day in the UK – why not celebrate it at the Festival?
At the Family Fun zone meet scientists, engineers, artists and inventors and design and build an earthquake-proof building, make friends with worms, become an urban wildlife explorer and meet an inventor of toys. Immunity Investigators is one of the activities in this zone where families can find out about the amazing structures inside our bodies that help us stay healthy and use them as inspiration for artwork.
The Family Stage features a programme packed with storytelling sessions and demonstrations especially for families.
Older children might enjoy Uni-verses: write your own space poetry, an opportunity to create space poems with award-winning poets and scientists who explore the universe and worlds beyond our own, and the Amazing Molecular Science Show in a live interactive show where molecules of different shapes and sizes all around us are explored.
For young people
The NextGen Zone is the ultimate destination for young adults aged 13-24 who are seeking an exciting festival experience. This dedicated area showcases the creativity, ingenuity, and passion of young people through a variety of thought-provoking and inspiring activities.
This includes the Fighting Bac event where local young people have collaborated with artist Laure Barthelemy and researchers from the National Heart and Lung Institute to create a thought-provoking art and science installation that shows the power of creativity to address complex scientific and societal challenges.
Young people may also like the Atom>Light>Dance atomic silent disco, where visitors put on a pair of headphones and join the dancefloor to create the disco of the atomic spectra, finding the parallels between light and sound waves.
Annual celebration of curiosity and discovery
The Great Exhibition Road Festival launched in 2019 as an annual celebration of curiosity and discovery, combining the imagination and world-leading expertise of iconic culture and research organisations in and around South Kensington.
This year's festival is presented by Imperial College London with partners including the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851, Discover South Kensington, Natural History Museum, Royal College of Music, Science Museum, V&A, Royal Albert Hall, Japan House London, The Royal Parks, Goethe-Institut, Institut Francais, Kensington + Chelsea Art Week, Royal College of Art, Royal Geographical Society (with IBG), and the Royal Society of Sculptors.
The Great Exhibition Road Festival returns from 17-18 June 2023 in venues around South Kensington. Visit greatexhibitionroadfestival.co.uk to register, or just arrive on the day.
All events are free, and some will have advance tickets released ahead of the Festival weekend. Register now for free for the latest updates and to hear when free tickets are released for popular events.
