Haverhill Science Festival 2026

Haverhill celebrated its second Science Festival at the end of April, with a range of activities aimed at increasing engagement with STEM subjects amongst young people, and raising the profile of business and innovation in industry in the town. The Festival was organised by the ONE Haverhill Partnership, a local strategic network which includes representation from Churches Together, and delivered by the Town Council. It included a Community Science Day, with Merck’s Curiosity Cube and other fun experiments and challenges laid out in the town’s Market Square.

St Mary’s Church was excited to part of the programme, with a large inflatable planetarium set up in the nave, where visitors were given a guided tour through the solar system and beyond. Children and adults of all ages were shown images of the night sky projected in 3D around them, and could explore the surface of distant planets in detail.

The rector, the Revd Max Drinkwater, said, ‘This was a fantastic opportunity to join in with a local festival and to help people to make connections between the wonder of the universe and worship of the God who created it.’

There were also prayer stations set up, reflecting on the recent Artemis II mission to the far side of the moon, and the opportunities which that gives to think about both human ingenuity and the gifts of God’s creation. One activity asked people to make a ‘constellation of thankfulness’ by writing or drawing on a star something for which they wanted to thank God, while another saw people use the Fibonacci sequence to create artistic pictures such as the ‘big fish’ which might have swallowed Jonah.

Earlier in the week, the church had also welcomed the Revd Dr Alex Shannon, vicar of the Pant Valley Benefice in the Diocese of Chelmsford, to speak on the topic of mathematics and spirituality in a presentation entitled, ‘the Maker of Patterns’. Dr Shannon received his PhD in mathematics before training for ordination, and has since continued to investigate some of the surprising intersections between faith and science.

Speaking about the talk, Mr Drinkwater noted that many of those who have started worshipping as part of the congregation at St Mary’s recently work in the businesses in and around Haverhill, which form an important part of its economy and global significance. He said, ‘It was exciting to see some of our newest congregants make connections between their faith and their work. Haverhill is becoming an important place for both manufacturing and research and development, and it is good to think that the church can play a key role in enabling this growth in the local community.’

It is hoped that there will be another Science Festival in Haverhill in the future, and more opportunities to engage with people on topics which are important to their daily life and work.