Hugh Barnard on a local event for technology enthusiasts
The Newham Citizen Science Fair was the result of a chance meeting between Akik Miah and myself at the East London Inventors Club in 2023. We are both enthusiasts for small scale technology, single board computers, programming and electronics. Once we decided to hold the fair, others joined us to help and to shape the event, which broadened to include “citizen science” or science for everyone and innovation by everyone.
We encourage experimentation and sharing work in progress. Projects do not have to be professional and polished, just interesting and fun.
Newham is very short of secular, non-siloed affordable space that enables this kind of bottom up, citizen-led event. Happily, the University of East London (UEL) provided space and in 2024 we held our first fair, attended and enjoyed by people of all ages. Think eclectic, curiosity, serendipity, informality but, above all, fun and human connection.
The 2025 fair will be held from 10:00am to 5:00pm on Saturday 12 April at UEL’s newest building,1 Salway Road, E15 1NF. It is free to attend, though we do ask people to book through our website so we can keep a check on numbers.
We’ve kept some measure of genuine independence by not seeking grant funding or corporate sponsorship, though we do get a lot of “in kind” support. In addition to UEL we have support from many other groups such as UCL’s Citizen Science Academy, Ankh Place CIC and ELFT’s Telehealth Service. If people have something they think is relevant and would like to exhibit, please get in touch asap. We can’t pay costs, nor do we allow sales, but it is a great opportunity to share ideas and network with other local initiatives.
We’re encouraging local, especially young, people to give lightning (five minute), egg-timed talks about their projects. We’re supporting as much networking as possible.
Contact us on the website or at info@newham-citizen-science-fair.uk for further information. Free tickets and the evolving programme is here: https://newham-citizen-science-fair.uk/ See you there!
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