The Danish Science Festival

The Danish Science Festival is an annual week-long festival taking place in April. The festival is comprised of more then 700 lectures and events around the country. The festival attract around 70,000 visitors every year.

Behind the festival

The Ministry of Higher Education and Science is the primary organiser of the festival. The Secretariat of the Danish Science Festival is responsible for the overall organisation, coordination, press handling, and marketing.

Every year approximately 100 local organisers arrange different events across Denmark during the Danish Science Festival. These are primarily universities, education- and cultural institutions, private and public institutions as well as research associations. However, everyone with feasible ideas and a suitable location qualifies as an organiser.

What is the purpose of the festival?

The purpose of the Danish Science Festival is to:

Celebrate the fundamental element of research: curiosity
Establish a meeting point between researchers and the general public
Showcase how research and innovation contribute to solving social challenges and issue
Support public engagement in research and enhance the relationship between researchers and the general public.

Who is the target group?

We aim to reach out to everyone interested in science and innovation. Moreover, the festival targets a segment of the population who usually does not interact with research and innovation. Local organisers are free to define their own specific target group, e.g. families, students or children, in order to make science and innovation accessible to everyone.

What takes place during the festival?

Visitors can experience all kinds developed with the vision of communicating research and innovation in an interesting, captivating and accessible manner. The most popular happenings include open house events, hands-on experiments, lectures, guided tours, shows, and debates.

Below is some of the festivals most popular top-down programmes.

Book a Scientist

“Book a Scientist” is a programme where groups of at least 20 persons can order a researcher to give a lecture within their area of specialisation during the festival week. The lectures are free of charge.

Are you a scientist? Read more about the programmer here.

School programme

In 2016 the Danish Science Festival launched the national school programme; a result of a close cooperation between the National Children’s Libraries’ website, the University of Copenhagen’s youth programme, and the Danish Science Festival. The programme introduces students to natural science and technology in a fun and interactive manner that relates to their everyday life.

The School Programme is brought to the students through public libraries, who sign up to get a box of multidisciplinary teaching material and invite local schools to visit the library during school days. The teaching material renewed according the annual topic, and is developed in line with learning goals of the specific classes, enabling teachers to incorporate the library visits as part of the curriculum.

Preschool programme

In 2018 the Danish Science Festival launched a national preschool programme. The Ambition with the preschool program is to give children (age 3- 6) insight into natural science and teach them how to think as researchers and research methods in a creative and educational way that is based in the childrens everyday lives.

The preschool programme consists of a free suitcase, which the institutions can can borrowed at their local librarie. In the suitcase there are different activities like games, stories or experiments that all support the children's collection of knowledge in a fun and playful way.

Grand opening

Each year the Danish Science Festival is launched at a grand opening organised by the Secretariat and the annual partner. Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Mary is patron of the festival and attends the opening.

The Research Communication prize

The Research Communication prize is given to a researcher or a research team who is an excellent communicator ana who over the years has done a special effort in communicating their field of research to the general public. The winner is rewarded with 200,000 DKK.

The Research Communication prize is handed out at the Danish Science Festival.