Back in the summer of 2017 (argh! it does not seem that long ago) Maisie and I decided we wanted to go to a festival. Maisie had finished her A Levels and I had completed my second year at uni and we decided to treat ourselves!
We wanted a small to medium sized festival which we could drive to, pitch up a tent and have a great time! We chose Bluedot Festival as we really liked the look of the music and science they had on offer. To top it all off, the festival takes place under the enormous telescope at the Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire, England. We were sold!
We decided to go for the full weekend arriving on the Thursday and leaving on the Monday morning. This was definitely a good move as there was so much going on and being there for the whole event meant we were able to see everything we could have wanted.
On the first day we got our tent set up and then had a good explore of the site and to get our bearings, ready for it all to kick off on the Thursday evening! The site is nice and compact which makes it really easy to walk around. There are lots of different tents and venues, so there’s always something interesting to see or do.
We had such a brilliant time, here are some of our highlights…
The Music
One of the first things that made Bluedot catch our attention was the amazing music line up they had on offer. Our favourite performance of the weekend was definitely Alt-J on the Saturday night! They were brilliant live performers and the whole spectacle was made even more atmospheric and special by the Lovell Telescope looming overhead.
The Science Talks & Workshops
There were so many incredible scientific talks, panels and workshops on offer over the weekend. We saw talks and panels about all sorts of topics, ranging from science and the patriarchy all the way to climate change. From professors to astronauts, the speakers we heard from were brilliant! Bluedot really has something for everyone!
There were also lots of workshops and experiments to take part in. We did a fascinating one all about visiting mars – with the help of a VR (virtual reality) headset.
The Food
This post would not be complete without mentioning the food! It was just a-mazing! There was a plethora of food trucks selling literally all food imaginable. Some of our favourites were the amazing pie and mash, the thai food and of course the churros – which we are so beautifully modelling right here!
Late Night Events
We also loved the late night events on offer. There was all sorts, comedy, amazing light displays and even late night movie screenings – we watched ‘Contact’ one night (they were all kind of sciency related!). There was a part of the site among the trees where pieces of art and sculpture were illuminated late at night and it was so stunning, we visited every night on the way back to the tent!
The Luminarium
Another brilliant piece of art was the luminarium, a sculpture which you can walk through and explore. It’s colours and shapes are mesmerising, it feels like you are in a totally different world. All the amazing colours are created, purely from sunlight coming in through the sculpture!
It really is an incredible event, we would both definitely recommend – bringing together science and art in a fantastic way! We will definitely be heading back again soon.
Unfortunately because of the current situation this year’s festival has been postponed to 22nd-25th July 2021. You can find out more about this the Bluedot festival on their website here, and on their Youtube channel here. Have a watch of the video below to get a proper feel for it!
Me and Maisie are always on the look out for more small-medium sized festival suggestions, what are your favourites? Please leave us a comment down below!
Lily & Maisie
2 Sisters In STEM
Follow Our Blog!
Enter your email address below to get our new posts delivered straight to your inbox!
2 Sisters In STEM 