One of the most unusual festivals in town kicks off on Thursday, with lots of events around the city and most of them for free and child friendly. Special mention to the Makers festival in Merrion Square, which is an exhibition which should give an insight into a variety of trades. There are a massive amount of events around the city, so check out the list below, or their website here.

The Festival of Curiosity 2016 – Dublin’s International Festival of Science, Arts, Design & Technology

A cultural feast of science, arts, design & curious technology in Dublin from July 21 – 24

URBAN ESCAPE 
The Atrium at Temple Bar Galleries + Studios I Adult Event
July 21 – 24 @ 12.00 – 18.00

Step inside. Relax. A pop-up experience exploring how the brain, the body and the mind reacts to a series of immersive rooms, environments, activities, colours and sounds.
The brain, a remarkable organ that controls every function of our daily life. But what affect do our choices, actions and physical activity have on our neurological, biological and emotional states? Right at the heart of Temple Bar, Dublin, take a step inside and escape to a series of immersive rooms from a mirrored INFINITY GARDEN to a floor to ceiling ADULT COLOURING ROOM, make musical memories at COVE or interact with an artificial intelligence (AI) as it composes an orchestra of yawns at THE YAWN CHORUS. Each room will explore the effect of nature, mindfulness activities, colour & environments on your brain, your body and your mind using the latest in brainwave tracking & biosensor technology.

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Curiosity Garden & Family Picnic 
Wood Quay Amphitheatre I Free Family Event (5+)
July 23 & 24 @ 12.00 – 17.30

Pack your picnic (and your wellies) for an outdoor play date with curiosity, giant bubbles, bangs & storytelling adventures

Our picnic area is back for 2016 at Wood Quay Amphitheatre so pack your picnic (and your wellies) for an outdoor play date with curiosity, giant bubbles, bangs and story telling adventures. Sit back, relax and enjoy the outdoor stage with the finest of Irish storytellers as they bring you on some curious science adventures. The Science Cat (Catherine McGuinness) will be making an appearance and has some science trickery up her sleeves. Between shows try your hand at making giant bubbles, have your face painted with a curious new do or join in with our family yoga. Make sure to invite your friends, your family & grandpals (grandparents, grandchildren and your grand-neighbours) to make some curious summer memories with.
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The Curiosity Carnival
Smock Alley Theatre I Family Event (5+)
Pre-booking required
Thursday July 21st to Sunday July 24th

Pop-up playground. A hands on adventure in science, play & curious technology
Join us for a hands on adventure in science, play & curious technology at The Festival of Curiosity’s interactive science playground. Step inside Smock Alley Theatre and experience an exciting carnival of hands on workshops, adventures in electronics, interactive installations, crafty creatures and curious games for all the family. To celebrate our 4th birthday, we’re bringing the best of the festival to the Curiosity Carnival in 2016 along with some curious new & playful pieces. From Lego building, to curious crafting, musical circuits, playable electronics and art machines come out to play at the Curiosity Carnival and try your hands at some of the most curious and playful gadgets & gizmos of 2016.

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Night Cycle / Moon Cycle* 
Leaving Temple Bar Square @ 9pm
Adult Event (18+)
Thursday July 21st

Pack your backpack with sandwiches, a flask and a sense of adventure & Ireland’s finest astronomers will pack their telescopes and take you on a night time cycle through Dublin to Dunsink Observatory for a picnic under the stars.
As you adjust your eyes for some summer night star gazing there’ll be inspiring talks in the Meridian and Solar Rooms with members of the Irish Astronomical Society about the history of astronomy in Ireland and scientific talks from Jonathan Mackey on current research fields at the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies. And of course there will be a guided tour of Grubb’s heritage South Telescope with observing, weather permitting on the historic lawns at Dunsink where telescopes will be set to view Saturn & Mars.

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FOR YOUR EYES ONLY
Science Gallery I Adult Event (18+)
July 22 @ 19.00-22.00

Join Science Gallery for a late-night party that will tickle your visual cortex and spark your curiosity. A Late-night celebration of curious perspectives and visionary viewpoints. Change your viewpoint but believe only half of what you see, as neuroscience collides with machine vision, and artistic aesthetic meets image processing. With music, comedy, and some surprises hidden in plain sight, we’ll celebrate the Festival of Curiosity with all things visual.

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Dancing in the Dark 
with Soda.Bread.Box
Filmbase, Temple Bar I Adult Event (18+)
July 21-24
1 HOUR | NO LIGHTS | NO ALCOHOL | UPBEAT TUNES |

Safe, cosy, dimly lit room where you can move freely and expressively to the music. It’s not about being a “good” dancer, it’s about the feeling of letting loose and dancing. It’s a stress reliever and it’s fun. There is no dress code but wear something light so that you don’t get too hot and so you can move freely. Water supplied but bring a water bottle if you like. You’ll most likely get hot and sweaty so bring a towel and maybe a spare top or jacket so that you don’t get cold after leaving.

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CONTINUOUS DRIFT
Meeting House Square, Temple Bar
July 21-24

Continuous Drift is a public sound installation designed and curated by the artist Sven Anderson located in Meeting House Square in Temple Bar.

Anyone visiting Meeting House Square can use their smartphone, tablet, or computer to select sound works from contributing artists to play back in the square, for everyone to hear. Once activated, the sounds of the installation emerge from eight loudspeakers integrated in the four retractable umbrellas that cover the square. While it is playing back one of these pieces, Continuous Drift remains open to others, inviting interruptions, alterations, and changes of course. At any point, anyone can use their device to select another piece to play in the square, adjust the volume of the work that is already active, or return the space to ‘silence’. In this fragile situation, no one person is ever in control.
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Dublin Maker
Merrion Square I Family Event
Saturday, July 23rd @ 10.00-18.00

Dublin Maker is a family-friendly day of invention, creativity and resourcefulness. The biggest Dublin Maker yet, Merrion Square will be transformed with exhibitors from all over Ireland. Featuring a host of clever hacks, intriguing innovations and maker movement magic – come along to find out how synthesisers are made, how bamboo bicycles work and beer gets brewed. See woodturners and ceramicists in action and discover how apps really get made. Get the chance to speak to makers who have created everything from rocket launchers to film props. This year will see a new food area and chill out zone as well as an exciting new addition to the day, a hackspace and demonstration stage Take the opportunity to glimpse into the future, get hands-on in the creation process and find inspiration to become a Maker.
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Memory of Place: 
Interactive story map of Dublin
Free App Download / City Centre & Online
July 21-24

‘Memory of Place’ is an exploration by Dr. Niamh Shaw of what it is to remember both as a human and as a scientist. Presented as a downloadable interactive audio map of Dublin, created by Mick O’Brien, ‘Memory of Place’ asks you to explore what memory is for you. With content from Shane O’Mara, Professor of Experimental Brain Research at Trinity College, who describes the function of memory and why and how we remember, you then embark on a walking meditation on Memory. As secret locations pop-up, you can let Niamh, her colleagues and friends take you to their somewhere special, as they each share a cherished ‘Memory of Place’.

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Recycled Rubbish! 
Family Show (Puppetry) from Theatre Rites
Wood Quay Venue I Family Event (5-11)
Friday July 22 & Saturday July 23

Presented by Theatre Rites, Come and join our two excavators as they scuttle through the muck finding treasures hidden amongst a world of rubbish. A magical world where, at the touch of a puppeteer’s hand, the contents of a bin bag can transform before your eyes. It’s a beautiful, silly and inventive world

POST SHOW WORKSHOPS: The workshop has been designed to accompany the performance of ‘Recycled Rubbish’ by Theatre-Rites. Workshops will take place 15-30 minutes after the show. Tickets must be booked separately and are limited. ‘Recycled Rubbish’ invites audiences into a disposable world, where discarded objects are animated and a team of resourceful ‘excavators’ bring life to the thrown-away. During the workshop you will meet another excavator who will invite you to create your own puppet from the ‘rubbish’.“It is precious and profound and playfully inspiring” Total Theatre
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Roll up! Roll up! 
The Science of the Circus
Smock Alley Theatre I Family Event (5-11)
Saturday July 23 & Sunday 24

Roll up roll up and explore the science behind the thrills and spills of the circus. Find out why jugglers love gravity, how clowns use science to avoid hurting themselves and why unicyclists need to keep moving to stay still. A festival favourite Dr Ken is back again in Dublin to take you on a voyage of discovery investigating how performers make use of many scientific principles in their tricks and stunts.
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The Bubble Show with Scientific Sue
Smock Alley Theatre I Family Event (5-11)
July 23 & 24

Join Scientific Sue, Ireland’s most beloved science performer and a Festival of Curiosity favourite for her wonder filled bubble show. Have you ever wondered why bubbles float or why we can see rainbows in bubbles? To answer these questions Scientific Sue will take you on a journey through the magical world of bubbleology. From big bubbles to small bubbles to bouncing, touchable, floating and sinking bubbles. Bubbles hold many wonders and create lots of excitement and with the help from the audience Sue will attempt to show many incredible bubble tricks and how they relate to science. Scientific Sue’s wacky combination of science and drama is both funny and thought-provoking and is a guaranteed feast for the eyes and the imagination.
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Curious Paper Creations
Chester Beatty I Young People’s Workshop (8-11)
July 23 @ 11.30-13.00

Create some crafty & curious paper creations at Chester Beatty Library. This is an introductory workshop to Origami, a traditional Japanese paper craft aimed at children aged 8 – 11 years. Workshops are facilitated by Akiko Kidokoro and will be 1.5 hours in duration.
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UTOPIA: design & build a future city
Chester Beatty Library I Young People’s Workshop (8-11)
July 23 @ 15.00-16.30

Design and build craft prototypes for housing of the future Workshops for 8 – 11 years @ Chester Beatty Library

In celebration of the 500th anniversary of Thomas More’s book ‘Utopia’ and in response to Alejandro Aravena’s Venice Biennale theme, ‘Reporting from the Front’, we will design and build craft prototypes for housing of the future. Join us for a fun and thought-provoking creative craft & design workshop to exploring how architecture will transform our future built environment.
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The Sleeping City
Meet at Harcourt Street Luas Stop I Adults, (12+)
July 21 & 22 @ 7.30-8.30
Walking Tour

Explore a sleepy morning Dublin city with Catherine McGuinness. As we rush through the city centre on the way to work, it’s easy to forget that the streets have their own sense of place. Sleep walking through the city, we are passing by countless untold stories with every step. Join us early in the morning, before the city wakes up, to see the city in a new light, and to maybe notice something new that was always there.
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Urban Explorer:
Discover the hidden stories of St. Stephen’s Green
Meet at Fusiliers’ Arch entrance to St. Stephen’s Green I Adult Event (12+)
July 21 & 22

If the last time you went on a nature walk was two by two while in school then this old school nature trail is sure to be a treat. Hear about the city’s wildlife & the hidden stories of Dublin’s most famous city park as Catherine McGuinness brings you on a guided trail through St. Stephen’s Green. As with any walking tour with Catherine it will be full of giggles and interesting facts that will leave you in awe. And remember to stay in your pairs!

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Curiosity Cabinets
Walking Tour at The Dead Zoo
The Natural History Museum I Adult Event (12+)
July 21, 22 & 23

What do you collect? Stamps, postcards, comics – or something really strange? Before there were museums, there were cabinets of curiosity- rooms in private homes where collectors kept their weird and wonderful assortments of curios. These later developed into private and then municipal museums, giving the public access to a new and less dangerous form of global exploration! On this tour visit one of the last intact cabinet museums in Europe – the Natural History Museum on Merrion Square. Your guide Catherine McGuinness will take you on a journey of curiosities and explore a time before wildlife documentaries and YouTube clips of dogs on trampolines.
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SEEING: WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT
Science Gallery Dublin
July 21 – 24

This summer, Science Gallery at Trinity College Dublin will be tackling the complex sensory experience of vision, understanding, and perception at their new exhibition SEEING: WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT? Optics, perspective, and comprehension will be illuminated while augmented ways of seeing, artificial eyes, and radical alternatives to vision will also be explored. SEEING examines the subjectivity of sight, the other senses that shape our view of the world, and the unexpected parallels between human and machine vision. Curated by ophthalmologist Kate Coleman, computer engineer Gerry Lacey, neurobiologist Semir Zeki and Science Gallery Dublin Director Lynn Scarff, SEEING will investigate biological and technological sight with interactive artworks examining the limits of machine recognition and the latest innovations in sight enhancement.
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The Art of Dying
with Ivor Williams
Science Gallery I Adult Event
Friday July 22 @ 11.00-12.00
Most of us don’t have a very good relationship with death. At least not in the West, where one in three Americans say they would ask doctors to do anything possible to keep them alive, according to a Nov. 2013 Pew poll, and only one in three UK adults have prepared a will. How can design and art helps us deal with death and dying? Ivor Williams works at the UK Royal College of Art Helix Centre where we asks and attempts to answer this question everyday. He applies creativity and innovative power to redesigning the inevitable, not futilely inching away from it. He will demonstrate through his work, how he deals with these important issues creating a new art of dying.
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Into the Dark: 
Exploring our self-conscious senses
Science Gallery I Adult Event
July 22 @ 13.00-14.00

Soda Bread Box believe that everyone is a dancer. They believe that everyone should dance whatever way the music moves them. They have created a dimly lit space with funky tunes which we hope will allow people to express and enjoy themselves.

Join Soda Bread Box as they demonstrate their powerful model for confidence building and make some shapes in the dark. TCD Professor of Experimental Brain Research, Shane O’Mara, will join Soda Bread Box as they discuss how our sight helps us make sense of the world and form our identity.