Bridgwater Science Festival

Aim

We are looking for funds to expand and improve the science festival, bringing fun and engaging interactive science for variety of audiences.

We are looking for funds to expand and improve the science festival, bringing fun and engaging interactive science for variety of audiences.

AIMWe’re a volunteer group organising Bridgwater Science Festival for 2015. We want to get young people thinking about science and technology.

ABOUT BRIDGWATER SCIENCE FESTIVALThe first Bridgwater Science Festival took place in May 2014. It was a small event, with 300 people attending over 4 days of activities. We had a very small committee and even smaller funds to work with - we received financial sponsorship from the Institute of Physics and in-kind sponsorship from Futures for Somerset. We had a number of talks, displays, interactive sessions, and a family exhibition from local and regional groups, organisations and charities. We want to expand our offering so that even more people can experience the science festival, create links with local schools, develop links with our partner organisations, and provide more opportunities for local organisations to engage with the community. For more information on the festival, please have a look at our website www.bridgwatersciencefestival.co.uk and get in contact through our social media pages www.facebook.com/bridgwaterscience and www.twitter.com/bridgwatersci

WHY ARE YOU CROWDFUNDING?We are crowdfunding this project because local councils decided against supporting us in 2014. That didnt stop us, but we had to use our own private money to fund the setting up of the festival and reduced the amount of promotion we could do. It did break even in the end, with sponsorship from the Institute of Physics SW and ticket sales for the adult events covering their costs. We are still applying for grants and looking for sponsors as well, but meeting our goal on here will greatly reduce the pressue. The more money we raise, the more we can offer in 2015. Funds will go towards the following costs:

- Venue hire

- Promotional material (design of posters / flyers etc, banners)

- Marketing costs (advertising)

- Keeping events free to attend

- Any other expenses

The team at Bridgwater Science Festival are all volunteers, and it is a non-profit organisation - in 2014 we donated ticket sales to Somerset Flood Relief Fund.

TESTIMONIALSOur 2014 festival was featured in the Bridgwater Mercury several times leading up to the event in May. We also had coverage on Access FM (Bridgwater's community radio station), and in other regional press.

REWARDSAny donation will go towards securing an exciting community event for Bridgwater. All funders will get listed on our website and social media pages (if you want), as well as priority booking for events that need tickets - if we raise enough then all events can be free. 

Higher donations will get you a mention in our festival brochure, a science festival supporter badge, sponsorship opportunities and opportunities to exhibit at the festival.

ABOUT YOUThe team behind Bridgwater Science Festival is a very small but dedicated committee who see science as fun, exciting, important and cool - something that needs to be shared, and to try and get as many people as possible to have a go at science, and see that it is not just something for 'geeks' or 'nerds'. From the food, cars, space, bodies, wildlife, energy, communication - everything we do in the modern world revolves around science and technology in some way. 

FAQsWhat will you spend the money on?

Mostly, it will be on promoting the festival so that as many people as possible can hear about it, but also on the hiring of venues, and any other associated costs such as marketing materials, fees for speakers (in 2014 nearly all of the speakers, exhibitors etc volunteered, and hopefully this will be the case in 2015). 

Are there stretch goals?

Yes, if we reach our target, stretch goals include:

-A science-based entertainment show for families

-A science-based entertainment show for adults only

This project closed unsuccessfully on 8th January 2015