Announcing IF Oxford science and ideas Festival: 17 October – 2 November 2025

This October IF Oxford, the city’s science and ideas Festival, is bringing more than 100 exciting, intriguing and unexpected events and activities for adults, children and teenagers to over 28 venues in and around Oxford, 17 October – 2 November. These include the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, Oxford Playhouse, Oxford’s newest public park, the Ultimate Picture Palace, two pubs, a bakery, and another world through the Narnian wardrobe of Caper Bookshop.

The programme includes fresh ideas on the past and the future, and cutting-edge thinking from world-leading researchers and academics on topics from moths, myths, medicine and monsters to the planets and how to save the world.  With hands-on activities, art, music, theatre, comedy, photography, discussions and demonstrations, IF Oxford will inspire and entertain people of all ages, and spark curiosity in our youngest citizens and scientists.

During the Festival visitors will have a chance to discover a rare treasure of early astronomy, a drawing of the moon as it was first seen by 17th-century Polish stargazer Johannes Hevelius and meticulously drawn from his telescopic observations.  The original 1647 edition of Hevelius’ Selenographia, sive Lunae descriptio (Selenography, or A Description of the Moon) which will be on show at the Weston Library for IF Oxford includes this first detailed map of the Moon. This rare treasure becomes muse for experimental pianist Marcin Masecki’s avant garde improvised music, highlighting the ethereal mysteries of Earth’s closest partner.

Festival visitors can enjoy a planetary promenade of a landmark solar system sculpture at Oxford North, Oxford’s newest quarter, with Creation Theatre and, back on planet Earth, hear journalist Tom Ough discuss how to avert global disaster and ‘defuse doomesday’, with real stories from scientists and visionaries racing to prevent catastrophes. Other speakers include renowned statistician David Spiegelhalter on The Art of Uncertainty, and author Michael Hornberger, who will delve into the story behind Alzheimer’s disease and about hopeful new research.

IF Oxford is a wonderful opportunity to hear how music, science and the hidden rhythms of the night intertwine in the Oxford University Museum of Natural History with composer Ellie Wilson and Moth x Human, a hauntingly beautiful soundscape inspired by moths, AI and the delicate balance of biodiversity. Or head to the UPP for Shaping Destiny: Experiments in Embodiment, a thought-provoking documentary in which academics, artists and community groups present performances blending science, history and art.

Festival visitors can also

  • Consider women’s pain: the science, the silence, the system
  • Visit ‘Crufts’ for robodogs
  • Explore whether bread is alive!
  • Discover the poetry of science
  • Trace 200 years of photographic invention at the Oxford Museum of the History of Science
  • Discover the hidden forces shaping our world through Suzanne Treister’s unique art exploring technology and society in an exhibition Prophetic Dreams at Modern Art Oxford
  • Enjoy The Great Big Bug Show for all the family with poet Simon Mole and musician Gecko in which every tune is an earworm – even the ones about woodlice!
  • Laugh at this year’s IgNoble prizes for improbable research – from postman’s testicles to bored teachers

The Festival also includes several hands-on family days around the city, with a new ‘Zone ONE’ in Oxford North, and the return of the ever-popular Explorazone in a new venue (New Road Church, Bonn Square), Techworks at the ARC Oxford science park in Cowley, and BLAST in Blackbird Leys.

ENDS

Notes for Editors  Festival dates 17 Oct — 2 Nov 2025  The programme www.if-oxford.comIF Oxford is the city’s annual science and ideas Festival (organised by IF Oxford Ltd, charity number 1151361), working towards a world where the complexity, wonder and opportunities of scientific research and cultural topics are explored, challenged, celebrated and enjoyed across society. The Festival is supported by Oxfordshire businesses including UKAEA, Siemens Healthineers, Element Six, Oxford Trust, ARC Oxford, Oxford North, Marks & Clerk, and cultural organisations including Oxford Playhouse, Oxford Contemporary Music, Modern Art Oxford, Fusion Arts, Science Oxford, The North Wall and many more.

Most events are free to book; donations are welcome using a Pay What You Decide ticketing model, which is just one way IF Oxford reduces barriers to engagement with science and great ideas, while also being able to pay for a quality Festival.

Logos and images are available to download from the media pack: if-oxford.com/media-pack

For media enquiries, please contact:

Festival Director: Dane Comerford; [email protected]; 07720 705 312

Communications Officer: Esther Lafferty; [email protected]