The University extends its programme with the Canterbury Festival this year, contributing to an increased number of activities from 26 September to 4 November.
Science workshops will be hosted for families on Kent’s Canterbury Campus on Saturday 28 October. Dr Robert Green from the School of Chemistry and Forensic Science will host ‘Solving the Crime with Fingerprints’, giving participants the opportunity to solve a fictitious cold case with the help of fingerprints, pattern matching and forensic science. Dr Emma Hargreaves from the School of Biosciences will host ‘The Arts of Acids’ alongside biomedical student ambassadors. Attendees will have the chance to explore the acidity and density of natural and synthetic solutions from our everyday lives.
Dr Robert Gallagher from the School of History will give a talk on the critical role Canterbury played in creating the Kingdom of England in the tenth and eleventh centuries. On Wednesday 25 October at Canterbury Cathedral Lodge he will explore this story, which includes Viking attacks, a Norman siege and Anglo-Saxon saints.
UpStart, a mentor-based one-day professional comedy skills, writing, performance and creative learning workshop project will be hosted on Wednesday 25 October in collaborative consultation with Dr Oliver Double and Dr Sophie Quirk from Kent’s School of Arts. A youth comedy-based performance showcase will follow on the Wednesday evening at the Gulbenkian Arts Centre Café.
The Gulbenkian will also be host to the Schools’ Poetry Competition Showcase on Thursday 5 October, with poetry readings, announcement of winners and prizes given out by poet John Hegley.
Kent student volunteers are involved in events of the Canterbury Festival, including ‘Open House’ (a pop-up exhibition in Canterbury city centre exploring themes of refuge, shelter and homelessness) and ‘Living Together with Dementia: a creative expression’ (a four week book-making project in collaboration with the East Kent Forget-Me-Nots offered to those living with dementia to express their experiences both visually and through text).
As well as being involved in public engagement activities Kent is headline sponsor of ‘Luxmuralis: Renaissance’, the major Canterbury cathedral illuminations event, on for five nights from Tuesday 26 – Saturday 30 September. A talk on ‘The Blean Bison Project: The Spirit and Science of Rewilding’ directly from the project team is additionally sponsored by Kent on Wednesday 1 November at Canterbury Cathedral Lodge.