From making your own maps of your East End, to exploring the world of marine animals, and learning about the history of London’s Match Girls and their pioneering strike, the Queen Mary Festival of Communities is back with fun for all the family on Saturday 8th June. There will be opportunities to learn, play and make things, win prizes, and explore delicious local food stalls.
The festival combines the fun of a village fete, including face painting, spin the wheel games, and a live stage, with cutting edge science and humanities research. It will showcase the best of Tower Hamlets and its local University, Queen Mary University of London. At its heart is some fascinating local history: one stall will examine changemakers in the East End, another will tell the history of the London Match Girls and their pioneering strike in 1888.
“It is probably London’s only festival where you can make a map of your East End, play spin the wheel games, and also talk to some of the world’s leading science and humanities researchers about their work,” said festival organiser Ife Akinroyeje. “My highlights this year are the Live Stage, which is going to have music, dancing and talks, and the histories of East End Changemakers.”
Games, activities and demonstrations will include:
• Explore the Wonders of Chemistry (breathtaking experiments and demonstrations)
• Travel through the world of marine animals with VR
• Learn to control a prosthetic hand
• Spin the sugar wheel: a guessing game
• Make an origami brain
• Journey into the centre of the heart and test your strength
• Make “your East London” or draw your own map of Tower Hamlets
• Sports including boccia, football & more (for children)
• Peruvian dance demonstrations
• Compete in a biology scavenger hunt around the festival
• Multi-lingual bingo
Budding scientists, humanities and arts students will also have an opportunity to explore career and study options with Queen Mary researchers and ask what it’s really like in their fields.
The Festival will run from 11.30am-4.30pm in Stepney Green Park on Saturday 8th June.
To find out more and see the programme, visit the Festival of Communities website
Queen Mary Festival of Communities
Saturday 8 June 11.30-4.30pm
Stepney Green Park
Free
