Ahead of the Northern Ireland Science Festival’s first roadshow event in Enniskillen next Friday, The Impartial Reporter spoke to Festival Director Chris McCreery and uncovered the Fermanagh man’s determination to celebrate “the wonders of science.”

“My favourite moments have been when parents have called us to say that the Festival really did change their kid’s view on the world and helped to reignite their curiosity,” said the former Portora student, who established the Northern Ireland Science Festival in 2014.

Next Friday’s roadshow event at South West College will feature a variety of talks, shows and interactive activities, including: visiting deep space in 3D to take a broader look at our universe, learning all about exploding vegetables as fuels of the future, making your own “X-rays” and building a remote-controlled Lego locomotive. The remainder of the Festival takes place over 11 days (from February 16-26) in Belfast with a packed programme for children and adults.

Read: Wonders of science explored at Northern Ireland Science Festival 

Chris took “a leap of faith” three years ago by quitting his lobbying job to “pursue the dream” of setting up the festival. He had studied Politics at Queen’s University, Belfast (QUB) and then worked for the Finance Committee in Stormont, before his employment with Stratagem. 

He was elected as Chairman of the Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival when he was 26 years old; an appointment that demonstrated “how powerful a festival can be.” He decided that “a festival celebrating science would be the perfect way to merge my natural curiosity in science with my love for festivals.” Looking back, he realises that leaving his job was “a pretty risky move” considering “nothing like this had ever been done before.”

Impartial Reporter:

In order to ensure the festival’s long-term success, Chris spent the first year “pulling together a team of experts from across the science community”. These included W5, the Institute of Physics, the local universities, the Ulster Museum and many others. “From there we tried to raise the money whilst also trying to build our first programme. It really was one of the most intense periods of my life,” he recalled. 

Funders include the Department for the Economy, Department for Communities, British Council NI, QUB and Ulster University. Chris commented: “The Festival is a very unique model of collaboration of all the major science organisations in Northern Ireland. Without the support of those organisations and a brilliant range of funders, it simply couldn’t happen. I truly believe that the strength of these partnerships is the main reason why the Festival has been so successful.”

The Northern Ireland Science Festival has grown in popularity each year, with over 50,000 attendees in 2015 and over 63,000 in 2016.
“It’s always a cliché but this really is our biggest and best Festival yet,” said Chris. “Internationally renowned speakers appearing include broadcaster Dr Alice Roberts, leading physicists Jocelyn Bell Burnell and Jim Al-Khalili, maths communicator Marcus du Sautoy and Britain’s first astronaut Helen Sharman.”

The Festival will explore the science behind Northern Ireland’s world class food and drink with events on the science of beer, whiskey, wine and our food.

“And there’s plenty for child audiences too as they can make their own Marvellous Medicine, crack the code of ‘The Genetics of Superheroes’ or be part of a ‘Teen Hackathon’ where the most innovative projects will receive spot prizes and a share of £1,000,” said Chris. “There’s even something for infants - a baby sensory space adventure!”

Babies have been to the fore of the new dad’s mind in recent months as he and his wife Paula welcomed their daughter Isabella in October. 

Outlining his most “surreal” science festival moment to date, Chris said: “We hosted Tim Peake in the Ulster Hall only 16 hours after the birth of my daughter so I was having to juggle a new born baby and an astronaut in the same day – I really never thought I would be in that position!”

Another “special moment” was last year, when Chris stood on the stage in the Odyssey Arena and watched as 1,339 local school children set a new Guinness World Record for the world’s biggest ever simultaneous science lesson.

Read: Science class makes Chris a record breaker

The roadshows are a new feature of the Science Festival and something that Chris hopes to expand in the future. “We feel it’s vital that everyone has the chance to experience the wonders of science in their lives,” he said.
Chris, a son of Jim and Edith McCreery, concluded: “Our long-term goal is to grow it into a truly international event, like the World Science Festival in New York, which attracts people from all over the world. And as a Fermanagh man, I want to see plenty more happening in Fermanagh in the coming years!”