Light in the North: SUN at the Orkney International Science Festival 2023

The overall aim of the project is to develop a theme around "astronomy, solar and planetary science" by displaying the immersive SUN installation in St Magnus Cathedral as centrepiece throughout the seven days of the Orkney International Science Festival (OISF) from Thursday 7 to Wednesday 13 September 2023.

This aim of bringing the SUN to Orkney is particularly important, as the geographical remoteness of the islands means that the nearest science centre, in Aberdeen, is a 6-hour ferry journey away, with two overnight stays as well. So a package of activities is being put together around the visit of the SUN, to provide a combined richness of experience that normally would be impossible in an island situation.

The activities will include two concerts in the Cathedral, talks on topics from fusion research to Maxwell's discovery of the nature of light, art activities, and an exhibition on the life and work of a 19th-century Orcadian physicist whose geomagnetic studies confirmed the link between solar storms and terrestrial magnetic effects.

Skilled explainers will be on hand to provide guided tours of the SUN. Some will be young postgraduate researchers from UCLAN, and two will be experienced Festival astronomy presenters.

Direct benefits to schools are a key factor. Orkney's school population is approximately 3,000 (18 primaries, two senior secondaries and three junior highs). Geographical remoteness limits access to the rich range of resources available to city schools.

The Scottish Government's Urban Rural Classification (2020) lists Orkney's population as 33.5% in Remote Small Towns (with 3 schools) and 66.5% Remote Rural (20 schools). Overall, the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation 2020 has 12 Orkney schools in areas of high deprivation (mainly SIMD 2 and 3). Hence, the requested funds will be key to engage schools and community groups, adults and families from across Orkney, including its outer islands which through their remoteness rank high on the Scottish Index for Multiple Deprivation and Urban-Rural Classification.

The overall impact we aim for is:

- inspiring the community with a first-hand encounter with something unique, the outcome of a creative collaboration between an artist and a solar physicist, and the feeling of coming close to the sheer scale of the seething mass of energy of the Sun

- providing a back-up context of information from display material and first-hand information from skilled explainers, opening up connections to the process of scientific understanding and some of the people involved in it - stimulating school pupils and provide teachers with added opportunities and resources to enrich the curriculum

- opening up new creative opportunities for people in Orkney's lively artistic community

- giving the community an overall feeling that great things are possible after several years in which the necessities of public health have led to a climate of caution and holding back and staying in