May 14 - 21 2011
 

Mai  14 - 21 2011
 

SCIENCE I TECHNOLOGY I NATURE I HEALTH I HERITAGE
GWYDDONIAETH I TECHNOLEG I NATUR I IECHYD I TREFTADAETH

supported through the Interreg IVB WECAN project by the Valleys Regional Park Initiative

Valleys Regional Park initiative’s

Come and Discover  -  Dewch i Ganfod
 

The first-ever Valleys Discovery Festival has five themes which are based on the heritage and culture of the area:

 

 

 

                 

             

Drawn from a cave on the Gower Peninsula, the 29,000 year old ochre-stained bones of the Red Lady of Paviland provide the inspiration for a series of events in the Swansea valley and around. Discovered in 1823, and misjudged in age and sex by Oxford University geologist, Professor William Buckland, the “lady”’s bones have since been identified as male. They are the oldest modern human remains found in Britain, and the oldest known ceremonial burial in western Europe. The story is rich in bioscience as well as heritage and culture as we focus on the journey travelled since the days of the Red Lady, celebrating an identity and continuity with the past and learning lessons on how modern ideas of time and evolution began, and how understanding biology led to a major shift in thinking about our world and our origins.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Over hundreds of years, Wales has made a stunning contribution to the fantastic. We explore the heritage, both in terms of fact and fiction. Leading scientist, Dr Lyn Evans, project leader of the CERN, Large Hadron Collider, trying to unravel the very origins of the universe is a son of Aberdare, Merthyr-born engineer Bill Robert designed and built the Daleks for Cardiff’s Terry Nation whilst world-renowned acclaimed science fiction author, Alastair Reynolds lives in the valleys. Find out how fertile and imaginative the human mind can be based on what we understand from science and technology and unlock your own imagination.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We live in a changing, evolving universe. How did we come to understand the story of the Earth and how are we uncovering the secrets of our universe?  We explore how the industrial revolution here in the valleys can help us uncover the truths about our past, present and future. The festival invites you to find out more with an amazing series of events, activities, and shows from fossil hunts deep in the valleys, exploration of other planets and how a rock guitar can tell us about the very nature of space.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A man with humble valleys origins helped discover how medicines are metabolised in our bodies, how safe they are and how well they work. Today we understand that our genetic make up contributes to that and that our DNA makes us who we are and tells us where we come from. Discover these life stories and your life stories through a mix of entertaining science and heritage with events on the biology and physics of extreme sports, life and death in Victorian times, and how to look up your genes and DNA!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What does the future hold for us as our planet’s resources become ever more stretched and strained? We focus on a number of projects and activities across the valleys at the forefront of trying to make our future a sustainable one in harmony with the earth. Local food, local energy and how we can help combat climate change and protect our biodiversity.

In these bones, horizons sing....

Space, Time, Machine, Monster

Heaven and Earth

Life Stories

Our Planet – Our Future