A Bit of History

The Pembrokeshire Darwin Science Festival was created in 2000 as a product of its parent organisation, The Darwin Centre for Biology and Medicine. The Darwin Centre was established in Cardiff in 1993 to increase the public understanding of science and health, through a number of programmes. The Festival was launched in Pembrokeshire and has developed strong links with local and regional organisations. Its annual programme is designed to engage people with both applied and theoretical science by exciting their curiosity and enabling them to make discoveries:

• Educational programme for schools that links with the National Curriculum in Wales:
  • Road shows of hands-on science taken into schools
  • Investigative science projects leading to CREST awards for science
  • Post-16 lectures

• Community science programme
  • A life long learning programme targeted at people in areas of social exclusion and rural remoteness
  • field events, workshops and projects leading to CREST awards for science.
  • A joint training network with the Institute of Technology Carlow, Ireland, offering opportunities for basic training in science and technology to encourage life-long learning in all sectors of the communities.
  • Field events throughout the spring and summer
  • Interactive family days
  • Public lectures on cutting edge science by visiting national and international scientist
  • Scientific conferences for scientists, teachers, students, and members of the publi

The Darwin Centre is based in Pembrokeshire College where it has recently established a laboratory and is beginning a marine research programme with the Institute of Technology Carlow and scientists from the University of Wales College of Medicine and School of Pharmacy.

In 2002/3 the Darwin Centre commissioned a feasibility study to investigate the possibility of establishing a centre for marine science research and education with sabbatical facilities for visiting scientists in Pembrokeshire. The result was a Ten Year Development plan to enable the Darwin Centre to work towards this aim.