Cork Carnival of Science 2025 will once again transform Fitzgerald Park into Ireland's largest outdoor STEM experience. Supported by Cork City Council and Research Ireland, this FREE family event promises two action-packed days of fun, fascination and scientific wonder.
Visitors of all ages can look forward to interactive exhibits, eye-popping demonstrations, and roaming science performers who mix juggling, bubbles, and street theatre with real-world science know-how. Whether you're learning the dynamics of flight, storm chasing, or peeking into the past through the lens of ancient fossils, this year's line-up brings science to life in spectacular ways.
Science 2 Life returns with Bubbling Botanicals, where young minds can uncover the secret chemistry of plants through colourful reactions, bubbling beakers and hands-on discovery in the Stretch Tent on the Main Green.
Budding palaeontologists can explore ancient worlds at The Fossil Roadshow from Irish Fossil Heritage. Children can bring their own fossils to be identified and learn how Ireland's landscape holds clues to prehistoric life.
RTÉ's Mark the Science Guy presents Storm Chaser—a thrilling sit-down science show packed with jaw-dropping experiments that explore
the power of weather and electricity.
The Air Force show with physicists from Simply Science (Dr Stephen Davitt and Phil Smyth) demonstrates the unseen forces that govern flight, using blasts of air, high-speed fans, and even flying toilet paper. Learning and laughter guaranteed.
Ever wondered what science has to do with sport? Science Made Simple presents Science of Sport, a dynamic show that uses balance boards, footballs and agility tests to reveal the physics and biology behind every great game.
And that's just the beginning — with even more performers, experiments and interactive stations located throughout the park, Fitzgerald Park transforms into a vibrant pop-up science hub for the weekend.
Across the grounds, science will burst into action in dedicated performance spaces and open-air zones designed to surprise and inspire. In the Stretch Tent on the Main Green, Science 2 Life and Irish Fossil Heritage lead the charge with vibrant, hands-on demonstrations. Also in this zone, Mark the Science Guy will take centre stage with a weather-fuelled adventure sure to captivate curious audiences.
On Innovation Way, Simply Science delivers high-flying fun in the Air Force show, while Science Made Simple brings movement and momentum to life in Science of Sport. Over on Discovery Drive, audiences can expect explosive experiments from Thunderbolts & Lightning and sleight-of-hand science from Inspirational Science in their dynamic Circus Science Show.
Live shows take place at regular intervals throughout the weekend, with full timetables posted at each venue and online. Performances last approximately 30 minutes and are free with no booking required—simply grab a seat and enjoy. Meanwhile, roaming science performers will dazzle the crowd with pop-up experiments, street-style spectacles and bubble-powered physics.
Beyond the show tents, budding scientists can explore an extensive array of STEM engagement zones featuring some of Ireland's leading universities, research centres, and outreach groups. From robotics and renewable energy to microbiology, biodiversity and sports science, each stand invites children to question, tinker, and discover through hands-on activities and real-world science. This year's line-up includes APC Microbiome Ireland, Analog Devices, Blackrock Castle Observatory, Bubbly Maths, Bumble Movement Arts, Cell Explorers, Circus 250, Cork Sports Partnership, Current Chemistry Investigators, Explorers Education Program, Explorium, FAI, Fota Wildlife Park, INFANT, INSIGHT, IPIC, Inspirational Science, Ireland's Fossil Heritage, Irish Bee Conservation Project, Irish Fossil Heritage, Learn It, Lifetime Lab, MTU, Madlab, Mark the Science Guy, Merck, Munster Rugby, New Moon Youth Dance Company, Professor Baloney, Science 2 Life, Science Made Simple, Simply Science, Stemwizz, TOG, Thunder Bolts & Lightening, Transport for Ireland, Tyndall National Institute, UCC School of BEES, UCC School of Chemistry, VistaMilk/TEAGASC, and biOrbic.
