Bella Boffinarium Returns For 2025
After a brilliant return in 2024, we’re delighted to announce the Boffinarium will be back with us once again this year with a list of activities to provide fun and excitement to all, across the 3 days! Families who visit the Walled Garden will find the Boffinarium jam-packed with fun, hands-on, STEM themed activities including:
Giant Mechano Animation Station Blockbuster Beats Microscopy Kapla Construction Calving simulator Rosie the cow – milking simulator Harris Tweed keyring Making Career Conversations Create your own Binary Code bracelet Make a wind turbine Driverless Cars. SpaceJunk Miro Hunters Make a stenotype bookmark. Magnetic tile building challenge
The Boffinarium is brought to you by a number of partners, learn more about them and the range of activities they’ll be bringing along to Belladrum this year, below:
Skills Development Scotland (SDS)
This year SDS will have a range of activities linking to the ‘Bella goes to the Moovies’ theme such as Guess the job and a Popcorn lucky dip. There will be some mini workshops running throughout the festival and once again the team will be on hand to be able to offer personal Career Conversations with a qualified Careers Adviser - open to any age at a time to suit you on Thursday, Friday or Saturday between 11am - 6pm.
Pop on in for advice, guidance and information over a friendly coffee in the gazebo by the Boffinarium. Book your slot in advance by emailing live@sds.co.uk or pop along and sign up when you arrive.
Skills Development Scotland (SDS) is the national career service. SDS advisers can help you with career choices and changes, job search, CVs and application forms, apprenticeships, funding, and lots more. If you’re in school, you can speak to your school careers advisers, or adults can find out where to meet a careers adviser for personalised support near them at www.skillsdevelopmentscotland.co.uk/contact-us.
Alternatively, you can call the freephone SDS helpline, Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm, on 0800 917 8000, or you can visit My World of Work, Scotland’s career information and advice website. Go to myworldofwork.co.uk to get started.
Skills Development Scotland’s | My World of Work Live
My World of Work Live returns to Belladrum with more exciting activities for the whole family. Come and discover the world of work through engaging, interactive activities using technology. All free and lots of fun in the Boffinarium!
My World of Work Live is a programme of fun, practical activities designed by experts to help young people understand possible future careers. Aimed at pupils in P5 to S6, activities are delivered by experts with a passion for education and learning. Using exciting technology, the activities help young people identify their skills and strengths, and opens up the world of possible careers that are available in Scotland, now and in the future.
“Skills Development Scotland is thrilled to be bringing The Boffanarium to Belladrum this year. We have lots of interactive, exciting sessions planned - there will be something for the whole family to join in. You can expect workshops and live demonstrations from our My World of Work Live team, as well as expert careers advisers on hand to chat to festival goers throughout the whole event. We can't wait to see you there!”
Science Skills Academy | Animation Station
Drop in and discover the wonder of early animation and make your own Zoetrope. Build a spinning animation machine, draw your own animation and watch it come to life. Expect family friendly activity suitable for all ages!
Blockbuster Beats | Team up with friends and family to play famous movie themes using our BoomWhackers.
Science Skills Academy engage learners from across the Highlands and Islands with hands on STEM (Science Technology, Engineering and Maths) activities in their network of science rooms called Newton Rooms. We want to bring STEM careers to life and encourage people of all ages to explore the world around them.
“Science Skills Academy is delighted to be joining the Boffinarium again this year along with our fantastic partners. We are all about getting creative, asking questions and exploring, so come and visit us and get involved.”
UHI STEM Outreach Programme
Join the UHI STEM Outreach team for hands-on STEM fun!
Challenge your problem-solving skills with interactive STEM activities, including MtA Kit, Kapla blocks, and microscopy. Don’t forget to stop by our dress-up/photo booth; we’d love to hear what you want to be when you grow up (no matter your age)!
The UHI STEM Outreach Team offers a range of STEM engagement activities designed to support early years and primary school learners. With generous support from our industry partners, we are running a three-year STEM engagement programme (2023-26) covering the whole of the Highlands and Islands; this includes Argyll & Bute, Moray and Perthshire.
Techfest
Join Techfest for Sociable Science – Where Learning Meets Fun!
Get ready for a hands-on science adventure designed for all ages! Sociable Science brings learning to life through teamwork, creativity and most of all — fun!
Create your own Binary Code bracelet
Crack challenging maths puzzles
Make a wind turbine
Every activity is interactive, engaging and simple enough to recreate at home, so the fun (and learning) doesn’t stop when you leave! Share your new knowledge and creations with friends and family and inspire others to explore the world of science.
Come curious. Leave inspired.
TechFest is an Aberdeen-based charity with a mission to provide Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) learning opportunities to children and people of all ages, abilities and interests. We deliver this mission through a wide range of events, educational programmes and community outreach.At TechFest, we recognise the huge importance of STEM education, from improving job prospects and fostering innovation and creativity, to understanding the world around us and addressing global challenges.
Our educational programmes span from early years through primary and secondary school in order to provide continuity of learning at every stage of a child's education. We believe that with this methodology we provide a firm foundation for our young people to build on as they move towards further education or the world of work.'
Royal Highland Education Trust (RHET)
On the farm – Meet Rosie, Bella’s cousin visiting the festival this year and discover more about where some of your food comes from, how to care for different farm animals whilst also caring for nature. You can get hands on ‘milking’ Rosie our dairy cow, help to calf a cow, and make some wonderful woolly crafts using sheep fleece. A shout out to Harris tweed for donating the materials for the keyring workshop.
RHET are a registered charity working with dedicated volunteers and teachers to provide every child in Scotland the opportunity to learn about food, farming and the working countryside. They were established in 1999 and since then RHET deliver experiential learning opportunities for children in Scotland by working with volunteers to provide free educational activities linked to Curriculum for Excellence.
Now with 13 countryside initiatives (CIs) affiliated to RHET across Scotland, their volunteers are bringing farming, the working countryside and its practices to life for young people. RHET provides free educational activities and learning opportunities that align with the Curriculum for Excellence.
Our goal is to give every child in Scotland the chance to learn about food, farming, and the countryside, to create a wider understanding of the environmental, economic, and social aspects of rural Scotland.