Edinburgh Science Festival is an annual two-week festival that runs over the Easter holidays.
Our programme includes more than 200 events in a variety of formats: from shows and performances to talks, discussions and debates, interactive workshops, drop-in activities and exhibitions.
Events for the 2020 Science Festival will be available online and in our brochure once launched – stay tuned for dates!.
If you would like a copy of the brochure sent to your address, please email our marketing team on marketing@scifest.co.uk
If you would like a copy of the brochure in a different format, please also email our marketing team marketing@scifest.co.uk, and we will do our best to provide you with one in your desired format.
You can search for events by date, title, age range and suitability, theme (which is labelled as Frontier), type of event, open access performances, venues and the #SciFive discount.
Each event listing will have the time, date, price and venue included as well as information about what the event entails.
We had a number of open access performances at the Science Festival in 2019 and plan to do the same in 2020. If there is something specific you would like to request for an event or ask a question, please call our Box Office on 0131 226 0005 or email boxoffice@scifest.co.uk. Below is a list of what has previously been made available:
Live Captioned discussions
Relaxed performances
Mobiloo
Sensory backpacks
Social story
With the help of Scottish Autism and PAMIS, we have developed a social story for anyone attending the Science Festival. The social story is available in downloadable PDF format. Please note that this will be updated before the next Festival.
Edinburgh Science Festival is an e-ticket Festival. This means when you book tickets to an event you are emailed a ticket which you can present on your phone for scanning or showing at the door.
Box Office contact details:
Phone: 0131 226 0005
Email: boxoffice@scifest.co.uk
You can book tickets in a number of different ways:
You will need to log in or register an account in order to book tickets with us online. This means you will keep all your Science Festival transactions in one place. You can do this by clicking in the top right corner where it says ‘sign in’.
Once you have logged in and found which event you want to book tickets for, follow the prompts which will direct you to the booking page. If you have any troubles, please contact our Box Office.
If you are using a public computer and wish to sign out of your account, you can do so by scrolling to the bottom of our page and clicking ‘sign-out’ in the website footer.
During the Festival, you can book tickets at four venues around the city. The Fringe Box Office will be open to book tickets in person from early 2020.
The Fringe Box Office at Old Assembly Close, High Street, Edinburgh EH1 1QS
Pleasance Box Office at Pleasance Courtyard, 60 Pleasance, Edinburgh, EH8 9TJ (open from the start of the Festival)
National Museum of Scotland at Chambers Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1JF (open from the start of the Festival)
City Art Centre at 2 Market Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1DE (open from the start of the Festival)
You can book tickets over the phone by calling the Science Festival Box Office on 0131 226 0005. Payment can be made over the phone and the e-ticket will still be sent to your email address.
If you are a BSL user Contact Scotland is a free interpretation service you can use for booking tickets. Log in to Contact Scotland here and you will be put through to an interpreter, who will then call our Box Office and help make the booking.
If you are experiencing problems booking tickets, please contact the Box Office on 0131 226 0005 or boxoffice@scifest.co.uk and a member of the team will get back to you as soon as possible.
If you have booked a ticket via email with the Box Office, you will be sent a ticketing link to securely input your card details.
Carers and support workers are entitled to a free ticket for the event they accompany you at. Please note ID may be required.
Concession tickets are available at a reduced rate for those who have a disability, are pensioners or unemployed. #SciFive tickets are available for students and teachers.
Children under three years old do not require a ticket for events, except if the event is specifically for children under three years-old.
Our events happen at venues in and around Edinburgh. We welcome all visitors to our events and make every effort to ensure that the activities in our programme are as accessible as possible.
This page contains information on searching for events (including open access performances) how to book tickets and planning your visit to the Science Festival. If you have a specific requirement or any questions about what we offer, please email our box office on boxoffice@scifest.co.uk or phone on 0131 553 0005.
Each venue we use has its own page with a more detailed breakdown of its access. You can download the full access statements from our core venues below.
City Art Centre: See the full access statement here.
Pleasance: See the full access statement here
National Museum of Scotland: See the full access statement here via AccessAble site
Dynamic Earth: See the full access statement here and the sensory map here
Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh: Download full access statement here
There are many accessible toilets around Science Festival venues. Below is a list of the venues that have accessible toilets.
All our core venues have baby changing facilities too.
There are three changing places toilets location around Edinburgh City Centre, two located in north Edinburgh and two located in Edinburgh west. A Mobiloo will also be available at Pleasance for Monday 8 April and Saturday 13 April.
City Centre
North Edinburgh
Edinburgh west
Please see the Changing Places website for further information on the specifications of each of these toilets.
Our transport partner Lothian Buses provide transport around Edinburgh, with many short walking distances to and from our venues. Most buses also have wheelchair spaces.