This free, family-friendly event is designed to spark curiosity, inspire creativity and leave visitors of all ages with a sense of wonder.

From 10:00 am to 4:00 pm, the campus will come alive with over 60 interactive activities, demonstrations, workshops and live performances that will showcase some of the University’s pioneering research, ground-breaking innovation and creative expertise.

Visitors will get the chance to see first-hand how Newcastle’s experts are tackling global challenges - from health and technology to climate change and be able to speak to some of the experts shaping the future both here in the North East and around the world.

Professor Jane Robinson, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Engagement and Place, said: "Discover Festival is about bringing ideas and people together and sparking curiosity. It’s a chance for us to share some of the pioneering work taking place right here in Newcastle - work that makes a real difference to lives locally, regionally, and globally. We are looking forward to welcoming everyone for a day which we hope will be both inspiring and fun.”

Highlighting Pioneering Research

At this year’s Discover Festival, visitors can have a chat with Pepper, the little robot powered by artificial intelligence who loves a good natter and answering questions about AI, science, or whatever takes your fancy.

The Human Drum Machine will involve a hands-on workshop where you become the instrument. Using professional sampling software, you’ll turn your stomps, claps and vocal beatbox sounds into digital instruments, showcasing the intersection of music technology and engineering.

Victorian Vogue will highlight the ways in which fashion shaped women’s lifestyles in the 19^th century. Visitors can have a go at some daily activities in a crinoline and learn how Victorian fashion still offered creative outlets for self-expression.

At the NEW-castle event, inspired by the New Towns exhibition at the Farrell Centre, people can explore some of the planning principles behind North East new towns such as Washington and Killingworth and get the chance to design a new vision for our city.

Other research-led highlights include:

• Seeing and hearing black holes: visit the University’s inflatable planetarium and discover how we can use sound to find and understand these mysterious objects.
• The interactive Heroes v Villains: The Germ Wars will give visitors an opportunity to explore the tiny world of microbes and discover how your body fights off germs. Find out which microbes are helpful, which can make you ill, and why snot is actually a superhero.
• The psychology of football will come under the spotlight at an exciting youth tournament that combines sport, fun and research to explore motivation, teamwork and wellbeing in sport.
• Become a Digital health detective and build your own health app to get real time information on balance and movement and learn how it can be conveyed to patients.

A packed programme for all ages

The festival also offers a diverse range of cultural and creative activities and many of these will take place at Newcastle University’s Great North Museum: Hancock or the historic Armstrong Building and King’s Hall:

• Catch Sugarbugs Live!, an interactive musical about the monsters that live in your mouth.
• Go on a musical journey around the world with the Multilingual choir as they perform songs in Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Polish, Ukrainian and Yoruba Locumi.
• Bang a gong and discover the Indonesian gamelan – learn more about this unique instrument and you’ll be making beautiful music within 10 minutes. 

All activities at the Discover Festival are free and for most of them, visitors will be able to just drop in on the day, however a small number need to be booked in advance. To explore the festival programme and register your interest, visit the Discover Festival website.