Festival REVIEW: Edinburgh Science Festival - ★★★★★
- Mix Up Theatre (Stewart)
- Apr 16
- 4 min read
An extensive programme for all ages, with fun hands-on activities, thought-provoking talks, dynamic performances and more. The 2026 theme, 'Going Global' will showcase the research and innovation created through international partnerships, and highlight Scotland’s contribution to scientific advances.
Festival
Where?
Various Venues, Edinburgh
When?
until 19th April
MIX UP REVIEWS:
Overall (only from what we've seen so far!!!)
★★★★★
Giants
Exhibition - National Museum of Scotland - until 14th September 2026
Meet the colossal creatures that lived after the dinosaurs in a family exhibition of epic proportions.
Georgie (Age 10) - ★★★★★
"I really liked it, it was fun and I recommend it for others to go see. I learnt new things today and the animals were Giant like it says. There's a child's trail as well which is fun to do and there's load of information to read and flaps to flip."
Earth Matters
Exhibition - Royal Botanic Gardens - until 1st November 2026
See soil through art.
Stewart - ★★★★
"Finding beauty amongst the soil within this suitably ethereal exhibition at the stunning Inverleith House in the Royal Botanic Gardens - it also doesn't shy away from more controversial aspects. The wall colours throughout (created using soil) are an added bonus."
Exhibition - Royal Botanic Gardens - until 28th June 2026
Step into the Botanics' green pharmacy.
Stewart - ★★★★
"Warning, this exhibition will make you want a cup of tea! So lucky the shop is nearby. Here we look at the herbs and plants that are used for medicinal and wellbeing purposes. Invigorating and an extremely interesting field of study well laid out in this gallery for exploration."
Tour / Trail - Dynamic Earth - until 19th April 2026
Travel through time and scour our exhibition to find out all about different kinds of eggs and the creatures that lay them: from corals and dinosaurs, to penguins and catsharks..
Stewart - ★★★
"Dynamic Earth is a brilliant visit and full of information from the Big Bang onwards. So, the Dinosaur egg hunt took a bag seat when we visited. Mix Up Junior was too excited about everything else going on. Great photo opportunity with the dinosaurs in the foyer though!"
Modern Alchemy
Exhibition - Edinburgh Printmakers - until 28th June 2026
A meeting of minds and materials – a collaboration between the artist’s studio and the scientist’s lab.
Stewart - ★★★
"Art meets science in this exhibition – perhaps one to be appreciated more than loved – don’t think I would be hanging this up in the kitchen."
Science Under the Lens
Exhibition - National Museum of Scotland - until 19th April 2026
Scotland has an acclaimed history in scientific and medical discoveries, but there is more to these narratives than meets the eye. A hidden history revealed when explored under the lens.
Stewart - ★★★★★
"The free exhibition is stunning in the National Museum of Scotland which creates a wonderful installation of huge scientific objects such as telescopes turned into pieces of art. You might feel like you’re under the lens of giants! Meanwhile there's lots of cool experiments and hands on activities - our favourite was of course creating a Shadow Puppetry show."
Planetarium Family Films: The Land Before Time
Film - Dynamic Earth
Kick off your day at Edinburgh Science Festival with a visit to Dynamic Earth’s Planetarium for some roar-some films! Enjoy a Jurassic journey with your little explorers in this one-of-a-kind cinema experience.
Mix Up Junior (Age 7) - ★★★★★
"I give the film a hundred thousand stars. It was very sad when the Mum died but the film has a good happy ending."
Activity - National Museum of Scotland - until 19th April
Television to telephone, fridges and fingerprinting to the humble flushing toilet, we Scots have invented a fair few useful things.
Join us for a pop-up Science Festival extravaganza as we explore technology from AI to coding.
Stewart - ★★★★
"The boys thoroughly enjoyed having their fingerprints done in the Makkin' it activity - the tech coded was very busy so didn't get much done there but the A.I. recognition video was pretty cool."
Activity - National Museum of Scotland - until 19th April
Be creative with chemistry and design your own smelly slime to take home. Test its thickness and stickiness under the extreme conditions of our ‘Splat-o-meter’.
Ben (Age 7) - ★★★★★
"I give it a hundred billion stars but the slime was smelly."
Mix Up Junior (Age 7) - ★★★★★
"I hit the target right in the middle with my slime. It was good and I give it a hundred stars."
Dig Up a Dinosaur
Activity - National Museum of Scotland - until 19th April
Millions of years ago, dinosaurs ruled the Earth – millions of years later, it’s time to find out all about them! Try out the techniques and tools scientists use to dig for bones and make your own fossil cast.
Ben (Age 7) - ★★★★★
"I give it a million stars and I liked the bit where I manage to dig up the big dinosaur bone."
Mix Up Junior (Age 7) - ★★★★★
"It was brilliant and we got to make a fossil and dig up the bones in the sand."
Show - National Museum of Scotland - until 17th April
Welcome to our Teaching Hospital - don your mask and join Doctor Watson and Nurse It-Better on their rounds to discover how your body works and how to keep it healthy.
Ben (Age 7) - ★★★★★
"The farting chef is hilarious and it's good to learn all about inside your body. Very entertaining."
Mix Up Junior (Age 7) - ★★★★★
"This was very funny and interesting - a hundred billion stars."
Make sure you have booked in for the latest DRAMA CLASSES at Mix Up Theatre...
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