Where curiosity begins — and life journeys start to take shape.
The Shape of Water
A brand new show for Science Week 2026, for families and curious minds of all ages.
I've stood on the ice in Antarctica and watched glaciers fall into the sea in the Arctic. The Shape of Water is the story of those journeys, and of the one thing that connects them, and all of us: water.
Meet a polar bear and a penguin, find out what a polar explorer really wears, and discover how life survives at the ends of the Earth.
Funded by Research Ireland through Science Week Ireland. Created in partnership with Dublin Zoo and dramaturg Sarah Baxter, using original footage from the 2023 Antarctic and 2025 Arctic expeditions, with artwork by Linda Fährlin and Arctic sounds by Sarah Bassingthwaite.
Where its on & Booking Links
Free family activity pack
Every child at the show gets our 36-page Art Science Activity Pack. Can't make it? Sign up to the Town Scientist newsletter and we'll email you the free pack as soon as Science Week kicks off.
Send me the activity packTwo places at once this Science Week!
So much is happening this Science Week that Town Scientist is in two places at the same time. While Niamh is on stage with The Shape of Water, David Bushman is bringing Town Scientist and CanSat to the Galway Science & Technology Festival.
Galway Science & Technology Festival
Sunday 8 November 2026
University of Galway
Come and find David at the Town Scientist stand, and catch one of his two talks.
David's talks
12:00 to 12:30
Life as a NASA Engineer
Behind-the-scenes stories from former NASA engineer David Bushman: building the International Space Station, training astronauts for spacewalks, the Space Shuttle programme and rocket technology.
Get tickets15:00 to 15:30 · ages 10+
Water in Space
Where does water exist beyond Earth, how do astronauts use it to survive, and why is this remarkable molecule so important for the future of space exploration?
Get ticketsBoth talks are in the Human Biology Building (Blue Zone), University of Galway. Adults and children each need a ticket.
Visit our stand
- Meet David at our Town Scientist Booth: find out how we bring free, hands-on science to families in their own towns. Download ALL our Family activity packs, watch movies of all the space-themed events we're hosted since 2021! Wanna become part of a Science learnign revolution? chat with David about becoming a partner in your region to help bring Town Scientist to more communities. Come by and say hi to David!
- CanSat Ireland: see a real CanSat rocket and our mock-up CanSats, and find out how your school can register for the competition.
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A huge thank you to Mary McDermott, who created the festival's Space Zone, with rocket launch workshops by Irish Rocketry (much like our own rocket launch at Family Day of Space), and with EIRSEDS, the Irish student rocketry body, and Irish Space Communications also taking part. We're delighted to be part of it.
"I always thought science was above me... that was diluted through the workshops. It made it feel normal."
— Town Scientist participant, 2025
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Subscribe free →Space Week 2026
We had our Family Space Day — Saturday 3 October, Dundalk
Thank you to everyone who came along and made it such a brilliant day. Rockets were launched, planets were explored, and curious minds were everywhere.
Want to stay in the loop for our next event? Join the Town Scientist community — and grab our free Space Week activity pack below.
A scientist in every community.
Town Scientist embeds a working scientist inside communities — running activities, building trust, and helping families see science as part of everyday life. Not just for kids. Not just for schools.
2025 pilot · independently evaluated
6,800+
engagement instances across the year
91%
felt STEM was more for people like them
74%
of participants from under-represented communities
80%
more comfortable sharing science at home as a family
Independent evaluation conducted by The Outcome, 2025.
See it in action
From the community
Activities
Science for families, not just classrooms.
Everything at Town Scientist is free and designed so parents and children learn together. Not a one-off event. A community.
Six weeks building and launching real rockets — families do it together.
Annual public events with talks, workshops and hands-on activities.
W5 Belfast, Dublin Zoo, planetariums — science out in the world.
Engineering and coding competitions for young people in the community.
Community in action
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Newsletter
Activities, updates and stories from the community — read on Substack.
Want a scientist in your town?
Science changes how families see the world — and their place in it. Funding, partnership and community interest enquiries welcome. Town Scientist is built to scale — one community at a time.
Get in touch
Want a scientist in your town?
Science changes how families see the world — and their place in it. Funding, partnership and community interest enquiries welcome. Town Scientist is built to scale — one community at a time.
Get in touch