Edinburgh Science Foundation is an educational charity, founded in 1989. We are best known for organising Edinburgh’s annual Science Festival – the world’s first public celebration of science and technology as a festival – as well as our science education outreach programmes, Generation Science and Careers Hive and our community engagement work.
Our mission is to inspire, encourage and challenge people of all ages and backgrounds to explore and understand the world around them. As leaders in our field of Science Communication, we work year-round to create and deliver dynamic hands-on workshops and exhibitions and inspirational shows, discussions, debates and performances that continually push the boundaries of public engagement with science. Communication and engagement is at the core of all our work and we strive to ensure that this is embedded in all aspects of our organisation.
Festival
Our 2026 Festival ran between 4–19 April and explored the theme Going Global – a shared pursuit that transcends borders, uniting people, ideas, and discoveries in a global endeavour to create a future that’s fairer, healthier and sustainable for all. The 2026 Festival showcased the research and innovation created through international partnerships that address shared challenges, directly aligning with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Highlights included engaging talks from Britains first astronaut, Dr Helen Sharman and wildlife cameraman, Hamza Yassin, our brand new family programme Science Festival Favourites, a collection of beloved family workshops from the past, and The Great Instauration, commissioned art pieces in the Grand Gallery of the National Museum of Scotland by artist Gayle Chong Kwan.
Learning
Our touring education programme Generation Science has been providing unique science experiences to schools across Scotland for 30 years. Secondary schools careers event Careers Hive was hosted this year on Gather, an interactive online digital platform. Over 2,400 students from over 30 Scottish schools took part in the event, which highlighted the opportunities available to those who study STEM subjects.
Wordwide
Edinburgh Science also offers collaborations internationally under our Worldwide arm. For international partners, the team at Edinburgh Science provide engaging content, curatorial advice on programming and business planning support, along with expert staff and training for local science communicators.
