THE Thomas Hardye School will hosting another Dorchester Area Schools’ Partnership Family Festival of Science this Saturday.

This year’s event promises to be bigger and better than ever before with a multitude of activities for people of all ages to try out in and around the school’s science department.

Many of the hands-on activities will offer parents, grandparents and family friends as well as children opportunities to find out that science can be fun together.

Visitors will find several themes being celebrated by the wide range of attractions on offer from 1pm to 5pm.

2015 has been declared both the International Year of Light and the International Year of Soils by UNESCO and the event coincides with beginning of Biology Week and Earth Science week.

For a first time, continuing the light theme, there will be two laser spectacular shows in school theatre, provided by the University of Southampton.

Other organisations who will be present at the event include Butterfly Conservation, Communities Living Sustainably in Dorset, Dorchester Middle School, Dorset Coast Forum, Dorset Police, the Dorset Studio School and the Dorset Wildlife Trust. There will also be representatives present from Farming and Countryside Education, Jurassic Coast World Heritage Team, Kingston Maurward College, the Institute of Physics, South Dorset Ridgeway Landscape Partnership, South Western Ambulance Trust, Thomas Hardye School’s STEM Clubs and the universities of Bath, Bournemouth and Exeter Also on Friday evening an event is taking part at the Dorset County Museum from 7pm to tie in with the International Year of Light theme.

Vocal group Opus Anglicanum will be presenting a concert of words and music on the theme of light.

To open the evening a short film will be shown featuring two Thomas Hardye students who reflect on their experience attending the launch of the International Year of Light in Paris in January and other school celebrations to mark IYL.

For more information visit dorchesterarts.org.uk