Edinburgh Science Festival 2026: Going Global
The Edinburgh Science Festival returns in April 2026 as an invitation: to look outward, inward, and forward with curiosity and courage.
This year’s theme, Going Global, reflects the truth that science has always been an ambitious shared human story. A tapestry woven across continents and centuries, stitched with questions, experiments, failures, and breakthroughs. Discovery rarely happens in isolation. It travels, carried forward by many hands.
That global story lives here in Edinburgh. In our universities, labs, hospitals, studios, companies, schools, and cultural spaces. In questions asked in many accents. In teams drawn from across the world, working side by side.
During our 2026 Festival, you can encounter that story firsthand. Hear from First British astronaut Helen Sharman whose journey highlights the power of international collaboration for scientific exploration. And join the nation’s favourite wildlife TV presenter and author Hamza Yassin – known to wider audiences for his Strictly Come Dancing win in 2022 – as he shares his insights into the natural world.
Step into a newly commissioned artwork by Dr Gayle Chong Kwan in the National Museum of Scotland’s Grand Gallery. She has spent the last several months exploring the archives of various British museums and he outcome of her research is The Great Instauration, large scale fantastical sculptures and prints in the Grand Gallery, fast becoming the Science Festival’s answer to commissions in the Tate’s Turbine Hall.
Former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon chairs a panel First Women of Science, celebrating some of the breadth of knowledge and expertise among the female scientists working in Scotland today and in the past. This event officially opens the Festival on 2 April and also features Astronomer Royal for Scotland Prof Catherine Heymans and author of The Edinburgh Seven, Janey Jones.
And bring the family to Science Festival Favourites, a selection of our best-loved immersive workshops and hands-on activities, which will take place this year at the National Museum of Scotland. Children can Dig Up a Dinosaur (ages 5+) in a special dig site and discover all about the creatures which ruled the Earth millions of years ago, become a forensic scientist in CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (8+), help solve a crime and catch the perpetrator or get their goo on in Splat-tastic! (5+), be creative with chemistry and make their very own slime to take home.
Also part of Science Festival Favourites, the whole family can take part in Mini-Medics: The Body Show (7+), inviting everyone to scrub up, don their masks and join Doctor Watson and Nurse It-Better as they explore the human body and how to keep it healthy. The Rocket Show (7+) makes the rocket science fun and accessible as children explore forces, test materials and prepare for a launch of a rocket fit for space.
Tech Decoded, supported by the Association for Science and Discovery Centres and SeaByte, features free drop-in activities that allow families to explore technology from AI to coding. Visitors will learn how the internet works and have the chance to create their own electrical circuits.
The Science Festival will also present an event celebrating the legacy of world-renowned environmentalist and activist Dr. Jane Goodall – and former recipient of the Edinburgh Medal in 1991 - featuring both Dr Anthony Collins whose 55 years working alongside Goodall in Gombe, Tanzania offer an unparalleled perspective, and Jasmina Georgovska, Director of Outreach at the Jane Goodall Institute UK.
That’s just scratch the surface of the 2026 programme. Carl Sagan reminds us that something incredible is waiting to be known. That 'somewhere' is not only a distant galaxy. It is here. In Edinburgh. In this moment.