Cambridge Science Festival cancels hands-on events

The Cambridge Science Festival has cancelled all hands-on events across both weekends amid the Covid-19 outbreak.

Run by the University of Cambridge, the festival between March 9 and 22 has cancelled 96 events, including escape rooms and sessions on gene-editing.

The first weekend of the festival was set to feature hundreds of events for families, including talks on the fastest animals on earth, hands-on demonstrations with Microsoft HoloLens, robotic workshops, and a virtual reality cycle ride.

The second weekend, also geared towards families, had planned for visitors can get involved with biomedical science at the Vet School, find out how CRISPR gene-editing technology can be used to fight superbugs, and how bat conservation could help reduce pandemic risk.

An official statement for the festival read: “Cambridge Science Festival has taken the very difficult decision to cancel hands-on activities over the two weekends of the festival.

“The weekends are our busiest days with thousands of families visiting venues such as the Guildhall to take part in interactive events.

“The health and safety of our visitors, researchers and volunteers is our most important priority and we therefore feel this is the most appropriate decision to take at this time.

“We still have lots of talks and events on offer and, at the moment, we have been advised that there is no reason to consider cancelling public lectures.

“However, we are very mindful that the current situation is changing rapidly and decisions are made daily.”