A SCIENCE centre in Oxford is marking its fifth anniversary and inviting residents of Oxford to help them celebrate.

Science Oxford moved to its current home in London Place, St Clements, in 2005, after spending fifteen years without a permanent home.

Since then, it has seen thousands of budding scientists come through the doors.

To celebrate the birthday, the centre is running events throughout October – all on the theme of the number five.

They are also inviting back past guest speakers who have proved popular, as part of ‘Science Oxford’s greatest hits’.

Among them will be Dr Ian Griffin, astronomer and chief executive of Science Oxford, who will be running a half term stargazing session on October 27.

He said: “This will be a basic introduction to the night’s sky, showing all the major constellations you can see in the winter months.

“We will also be able to see Jupiter and its moons through a telescope, so it promises to be a great session.”

He added: “We are all very pleased that Science Oxford is getting stronger and stronger, so this will be a celebration of that.”

Anne Lechelle, marketing manager for Science Oxford, said the London Place building had made a big difference to the attraction.

She said: “Basically, we have now been able to present a public face after years of being on the road.

“In the first year, we had 5,000 visitors but last year, we saw more than 10,000 so we are gradually putting ourselves on the map.”

Science Oxford runs workshops for children, along with exhibitions and talks for older science enthusiasts.

There is also a discovery zone, where children and primary schools can “experience science through play”.

Miss Lechelle said the next five years would be spent building on previous success.

She added: “We really want to encourage more families through the doors in addition to our regulars.

“We think people who may have been put off science at school could really learn to enjoy it again and that’s why we are here.

“Kids who get enthused about science are more likely to do well in it and could even stumble upon their future career.”

  • Celebration events include: Thursday, September 30: Prof Colin Blakemore gives an insight into the brain.

Thursday, October 7: Dr Petra Boynton tells visitors what she has learnt in a career as a sex researcher, educator and agony aunt.

Thursday, October 14: What makes us Human? Prof Robin Dunbar returns to update people on his studies of Homo Sapiens.

Thursday, October 21: The swifts that nest each year in the tower of the Natural History Museum in Oxford have been studied since the 1940s. Roy Overall introduces visitors to these fascinating birds.

Wednesday, October 27: Dr Ian Griffin introduces some of the stars, planets and constellations and explains how you can identify and locate them.

Thursday, October 28: Physicist Prof Brian Foster and violin virtuoso Jack Liebeck link Einstein’s favourite instrument, the violin, with many of the concepts of modern physics that he did so much to found.

For more information, visit scienceoxford.com