Lewes Science, Technology, Engineering, and Maths (STEM) Festival 2017

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The aim of this application is to support the ongoing development and expansion of the Lewes STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) Festival. The festival aims to encourage the general public to take an interest in STEM disciplines while also serving as a showcase for research undertaken in the local community (including the University of Sussex, University of Brighton, and local businesses). The festival provides an efficient way to reach a large audience encompassing STFC's key target demographics as outlined in the strategic roadmap. The event complements other education and public outreach activities (for example, the University of Sussex Department of Physics and Astronomy organises a large number of school visits) by more actively engaging with families and the general public.The first event of the first (2016) Lewes STEM Festival was held on the 23rd April 2016. This event took the form of a "STEM fair" with a range of STEM-related activities aimed predominantly at KS1-3 (ages 5-13) students. Despite limited publicity (a result of the lack of resources) the fair ran at capacity (i.e. we had to operate a one-in one-out policy) attracting ~600 visitors over 3 hours and received extremely positive feedback. Despite the success of this first event the tenability of the event in future years is at risk without additional resources, particularly in the form of a publicity budget (to produce flyers, posters, and banners etc.) and administrative assistance (for the production of publicity materials, organising the various activities, making contacts with local businesses etc.). The immediate aim of this grant is to provide some of the resources critical to maintaining and further expanding the festival.