VISITOR numbers to this year’s Bridgwater Science Festival were out of this world with over 1,000 people attending events.

The Family Fun Day event at the town hall, attended by the mayor councillor Leigh Redman, was busy from start to finish, with an estimated 800 visitors throughout the day.

Events also took place last week, with well over 1,000 people turning up to see the weird and wonderful from the world of science.

A wide range of science topics were covered, from approximately 20 organisations, including space, astronomy, microbiology, archaeology, composting, future transport, reptile handling, water tests, psychology, food waste, robotics and chemistry.

For children there was a bubble show and a puppet show and fossils. The event saw a massive increase in visitor numbers compared to 2014.

Founder Tom Payne said “The number of children and adults who were entertained and engaged by the science on show was amazing, and to see even more people come to the EDF Visitor Centre in Angel Place was the icing on the cake.”

It was all made possible by grant funding from Bridgwater Town Council, and sponsorship from Institute of Physics (South West), and the free and voluntary attendance by the groups who provided the activities, talks and shows.

The University of the West of England provided volunteers from a number of areas of research including robotics, psychology and microbiology.

The University also ran workshops at EDF Visitor Centre in Angel Place during the week.