Edinburgh Science Festival: Pink Floyd, Minecraft, LEGO, The Traitors and Great British Bake Off inspire special events

Sex lives of insects, chemistry of ice cream and celebration of mushrooms in line-up

Scotland’s biggest celebration of science will embrace Pink Floyd, Minecraft, LEGO, Back to the Future, The Traitors and the Great British Bake Off when it returns to Edinburgh in the spring.

The sex lives of insects, the trustworthiness of robots, the links between Andy Warhol and ice cream, a celebration of mushrooms, the history of poisons and the cities of the future will all feature in the 35th anniversary edition of the Edinburgh Science Festival.

More than 150 events are due to be held during the two-week festival, which will explore the impact of climate change, artificial intelligence and medical research around the world.

Maria Tolzmann and Andrew Jenkins help the Edinburgh Science Festival get ready to take over the Scottish capital for its 35th anniversary edition

The National Museum will be home to a 10ft tall structure examining how biomaterials are expected to increasingly become part of future building, packaging, fashion and daily living.

Its Constructing Tomorrow event at the museum will explore what Edinburgh’s World Heritage Site may look and feel like in the future, with a built environment transformed by new technology and materials designed to cope better with climate change.

Youngsters will be able to use LEGO to learn about biodiversity, potential ways to protect the planet and what is needed in cities to reduce pollution and stop flooding. They can also become “disease detectives” playing Minecraft to explore how infectious diseases can spread within and between communities.

The Playfair Library will play host to a special event focusing on a project led by Edinburgh College of Art lecturer Dr James Cook to use cutting-edge technology to try to recreate how choral music would have sounded when it was performed at the now-ruined Linlithgow Palace more than 500 years ago.

The National Museum will be one of the main venues used in this year's Edinburgh Science Festival.

Billed as a “Traitors-style experience”, Two Truths and a Robot Lie at Panmure House, the former 17th-century townhouse where Adam Smith lived off the Royal Mile, promises to probe how much robots can really be trusted.

The history of poisons will be recalled at the Royal College of Physicians, while the Bayes Centre at Potterrow will host an event exploring what it takes for animal viruses to become fully-fledged human outbreaks.

Other events will see authors Peter Coveney and Roger Highfield explore how new “digital twin” research is being used to help with work on drug trials, life expectancy and the risk of disease. “Indecent Insects” will explore the latest research into the sex lives of insects.

Food-themed events will involve Great British Bake Off finalist Andrew Smyth hosting Bakineering, an “edible exploration” of the hidden engineering involved in his own baking. A celebration of the chemistry of ice cream will also be explored at Dovecot Studios to coincide with its ongoing exhibition of Andy Warhol textiles, while there will be a mushroom-themed party at the Biscuit Factory.

Summerhall will be one of the main venues in this year's Edinburgh Science Festival. Picture: Ian Georgeson

Night-time events including Planetarium Late, an immersive sound and visual event at Dynamic Earth combining images of the solar system with the 51-year-old Pink Floyd album The Dark Side of the Moon.

Sci-Fi Snobbery will offer up a debate on the scientific and cinematic merits of classic movies like Star Trek, Back to the Future, Alien, The Matrix and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.

Festival director Dr Simon Gage, who is standing down from the event in April after overseeing every edition since it was launched in 1989, said: “We have an amazing festival lined up for our 35th anniversary year. The programme touches the cutting edge of invention, from the worlds of artificial intelligence, robotics and space exploration to the unusual, such as giant rooms made of mushrooms.

“In amongst it, we look at some more familiar things in an unusual way, such as disposing of the dead, poisons, the psychology of magic and virus bingo. Whether you want to blast it, build it, bury it or bake it, we have something for you – and for little ones too.”