Last week was Sidmouth Science Festival and what a fantastic event it was. On Super Science Saturday (5th Oct) there were lots of things for children to do and explore all over the town. There were fossils, bubbles, aeroplanes, light experiments, robotic brushes, bugs and lots more. There was also a treasure hunt based on the chemical elements which shops in Sidmouth kindly supported. As someone involved with the running of the event myself, I want to thank Fonehouse, Gliddons Cookshop, Housewares, Kingfisher, Sidmouth Pharmacy, South West Art and Tesco for their support. Each had an item in the window made from a different chemical element. Those the children had to find were Aluminium, Carbon, Copper, Helium, Iron, Lithium and Zinc. See if you can work out which went where.

During the week there were well attended talks on topics as diverse as Geology, Artificial Intelligence, Sports Science, Heat pumps, Moisture in buildings, Citizen Science, Devon’s famous scientists, Plastic waste, and Lichens, plus a load more. Many of these talks were put on with other organisations in Sidmouth and I would like to also acknowledge them. They were Art Society of Sidmouth, Devonshire Association, Norman Lockyer Observatory, Sidmouth National Trust Supports Group, Sid Valley Biodiversity Group and the SVA. It is fantastic when groups in Sidmouth can cooperate to make all our lives better and richer.

On 12th October there was a fantastic robot workshop with children, and adults, able to control, build and play with a wide range of robots. In parallel we had an excellent series of activities related to biodiversity include field trips to the Knapp Orchard and Muttersmoor. The grand finale was at the Norman Lockyer Observatory which was packed and had lots of new activities as well as old favourites such as the jet car racing.

You might not think that Science and Engineering has an important part to play in Sidmouth but it affects many of the things we do.

I have spoken before about the work South West Water are planning to do at the Ham, and elsewhere in Sidmouth, to reduce sewage spills and of course this involves engineering design and construction. Trained engineers need to take measurements and undertake calculations to ensure that what has been designed will perform the function for which it is intended. Only when it has been designed can it be safely constructed.

Another local engineering project is the East Devon District Council’s Beach Management Scheme. The design and construction of offshore structures is a complex task which will also involve engineering design so the right sized structures can be placed in the right place offshore to protect Sidmouth from storm events. These designs can then be tested in scaled down models to ensure they will perform as planned before anything happens out at sea.

Sidmouth also imports the products of engineering design! The Town Council met on 7th October and voted that the annual Sidmouth Air Show will continue to be the central event of the Sidmouth Regatta Weekend for the next 5 years, with a commitment to continued ongoing sustainability and improvement. There was a lot of discussion about the benefits this brings to Sidmouth both in visitor numbers as well as enjoyment of the residents balanced, against the environmental impact. We will continue to seek to minimise the environmental impact and will offset the emissions caused.

Science and Engineering are vital to our lives and it is important that we all responsibly engage with modern trends whether that be Artificial Intelligence, Climate Change, Biomedical advances or Biodiversity. An informed population will ensure that these are developed in a way that we as citizens want.