THE NATIONAL Science and Media Museum wants to build more relationships with local communities in Bradford and create further chances for them to "project their voices".

It comes as one of its most popular events returns today, with the annual Bradford Science Festival running until 31 October.

The festival is spread across the museum itself, City Park, The Broadway and Kirkgate Shopping Centre, with activities also on offer at two community centres in the district.

The museum, which recently received National Lottery funding for its new Sound and Vision project, wants to use the festival as an opportunity to "reach out and have a presence" in more local communities, reaffirming its message that it is a venue open to "the whole of Bradford".

"Our museum is in the middle of so many different communities. We are beautifully situated to ensure that we have a presence in these communities, and that they have a place here too", said Iain Hendry, Producer at the National Science and Media Museum.

"Museums have been seen as these stuffy, hard-to-reach spaces that aren't necessarily open to everyone. But it's about shaking that up a bit, and showing that museums aren't just here to serve a select few.

"We want communities across Bradford to be more familiar with the museum, and to see us as friends. We are a national museum, but we are also Bradford's museum - and it is so important that we get into local communities.

"A central tenant of our recent funding is that we are using this to mobilise and energise our role in these communities. We're making sure that the museum has a foot in these communities, and that they have a foot in the museum as well.

"Our resources are Bradford's resources - we've brought Samsung and Google to Bradford, we've brought astronaut Tim Peake to Bradford. It's about creating those magic moments for our city, which can help people to aspire and broaden their horizons, just as it helps us to do the same.

"We have worked with communities and given them spaces here. For me personally, it has been the main priority for the last six or seven years - so it's great to see things coming to fruition.

"If we can project the voices of our communities in Bradford in a national space, then our partners are listening, and Bradford 2025 is listening. We are helping to make sure that everyone has a vested interest in Bradford and that we celebrate that."

Iain added that - after a year interrupted by Covid-19 - Bradford Science Festival is now "back where it belongs", and that this year's edition is "bigger" than ever before.

"It's really exciting. We'll be exploring themes such as climate, the environment and sustainability, as well as sound, and in the museum we have spaces where young people and families can look at careers in science, technology, engineering and maths", he said.

"At The Broadway, we're working with Incredible Oceans and have a giant killer whale there - which thankfully isn't real - as well as dancing robots.

"We also have events at St Stephen's Church and Laisterdyke Community Centre, as well as Kirkgate Shopping Centre and City Park - wherever you are in the city, you don't have to go too far to run into the festival."

Most events at Bradford Science Festival are free, and tickets can be booked online on the National Science and Media Museum website.