Hundreds of school pupils from across the city and Aberdeenshire will visit the University of Aberdeen this week as part of the annual May Festival Schools' programme.
The Schools’ Festival is the precursor to the main May Festival programme, which also includes a dedicated strand for children and families running on Saturday and Sunday.
Designed to complement all areas of the curriculum - including science, the expressive arts, language, maths, and health and wellbeing – several of the events are being held in collaboration with the University’s Confucius Institute, the Centre for Scandinavian Studies and local science charity Techfest.
From today May 21, to Thursday, May 23, youngsters will be able to enjoy a wide range of events; from learning about the traditional Chinese folk tale that inspired the much-loved children’s storybook, The Gruffalo; to Techfest’s K’Nex Dinosaurs event, which will introduce pupils to the fascinating world of engineering design, allowing them to develop their construction skills and creative confidence.
Meanwhile, Uncovering Viking Secrets will look at the mysterious ways Vikings described the natural world, during which pupils will have the chance to write their own runic messages and create Viking poetry. American children’s book author Kimberlie Hamilton will lead an interactive storytelling session based on her books, Rebel Cats! Brave Tales of Feisty Felines and Rebel Dogs! Heroic Tales of Trusty Hounds.
Festival manager, Jill Murray, from the University of Aberdeen’s Festival and Events team is looking forward to welcoming local pupils on to campus.
She said: “This year’s festival is bigger than ever and that includes the Schools’ programme which has a wide variety of events aimed at youngsters from P1 upwards.
“We hope all those who visit the 2019 festival will have a great time learning something new and most importantly have fun while doing so here at our Old Aberdeen campus!”
May Fest will run from Friday, May 24 – Sunday, May 26. For more information visit www.abdn.ac.uk/mayfestival
