Health & Wellbeing Festival

What’s on offer?

Let’s Make Poo! 10 - 12

Interactive activity for children on the importance of understanding our bodies and how they work with North West Cancer Research.

Family Fitness Classes - Lancaster University Sports Centre 12 - 1

Join Lancaster University Sports Centre for a family friendly workout for you and your little ones. Book here

Teddy Bear Hospital – Lancaster University Medical School 10 - 2

Has you or your little one's cuddly toy been injured or is maybe feeling a little unwell? Bring them along and visit our wonderful Medical School who will help diagnose and treat any ailments, real or imagined!

Football Skills Camp – NM 1-2-1 Coaching 10 - 12

Free small group football coaching for ages 6-12. Book here

Health Checkups – Dr Michelle Swainson 11 - 4

Pop by for a mini health profile including weight, height, body fat and blood pressure.

Health in the Creative Arts with The Gregson and Light Up Lancaster – Dr Rachael Estham & Dr Jude Lunn 11 - 3

Join local artist and Queer by Gum founder, Vaz Lockett and Community Musician and DJ Charlie Brown, to have fun with visual arts and digital music production. Building on the ‘In Our Words’ project which will take place at the Gregson Centre, Lancaster (Monday 23rd-Weds 25th October) to develop an installation for Light up Lancaster, this workshop will offer young people space to creatively explore the language of ‘youth’ (and its stereotypes). Being a young person matters when it comes to health and wellbeing, for example because you may need parents/carers support or permission to go to the doctors; and because ideas and assumptions about young people (‘ageism’) can impact help you get to be well. This session will use visual arts and digital music software and instruments to illuminate what it means to be a young person, in your own terms.

Future of Human Reproduction – Dr Zoe Bolton & Professor Stephen Wilkinson 10 - 5

The Future of Human Reproduction is an interdisciplinary research programme, funded by Wellcome, which is exploring the cultural, ethical, legal, and social challenges that will emerge as technological advances fundamentally change the possibilities for human reproduction.

The programme is asking important questions now about future reproductive technologies because it is vital to do so before these technologies become a scientific reality. The programme is not endorsing the introduction of these technologies but seeking to understand the many implications that they will have for the way that future children are created and born. 

For more information visit: The Future of Human Reproduction (lancs.ac.uk)

Activity includes a short talk on Ectogenesis: Culture, Science and Ethics at 3pm, a Speculative Design Exhibition and a Book Club: Dreams Before the Start of Time at 4pm.

These activities are only suitable for those aged 15 or over and some people may be affected by the issues that they raise.

Mapping Wellbeing – Dr Elisavet Christou, Dr Pinar Ceyhan and Violet Owen 10 - 4

Explore the connections between environmental factors and their impact on your wellbeing.

Evaluation Visualisation – Dr Elisavet Christou and Dr Pinar Ceyhan 10 - 4

Learn more about EViD evaluation and the impact it can have in your organisation. This tool is free to use and we would love to share it with for-profits and not-for-profits alike.

Virtual Reality Health – Innovation Hub 10 - 4

Test out the latest technologies and explore the world of virtual reality health and wellbeing. If you fancy trying Yoga on a sunny Greek Island this is for you.

Police Uniform and Gender – Dr Camilla De Camago & Dr Nicola Harding 10 - 2

Pop by this interactive stand to learn about the police uniform and the challenges that the police have in wearing it when trying to do their job. Explore the history and current issues of health and safety particularly on women, non-binary and non-"conforming" body types. There's also the chance to design the future of the police uniform.

Wildlife Wellbeing Walks – Wildlife Wellbeing Walks CIC 12 - 2

Take a moment to relax and unwind in your natural environment and explore the green spaces of the Health Innovation Campus. Book here

Inclusive healthcare spaces: bring your own experiences and ideas – Professor Charlotte Baker and Dr Benjamin Dalton 1 - 2

Join us and bring your own experiences and expertise to help us think about what makes healthcare spaces inclusive and how clinical settings could be transformed to be more welcoming to all patients. Charlotte Baker, Professor of French and Critical Disability Studies, and Dr Benjamin Dalton, Lecturer in French Studies, both from the Department of Languages and Cultures at Lancaster University, approach questions of healthcare and inclusivity in their research through dialogues across the arts, philosophy, literature, film, and the Medical Humanities. Charlotte’s work explores questions of disability and stigmatization in Sub-Saharan African contexts whilst Benjamin’s work on philosophical approaches to hospitals has also explored how clinical spaces can be more welcoming to LGBTQIA+ patients. This workshop invites participants to come together in exploring how collaborations across arts and humanities and medicine can make healthcare spaces more inclusive to all.  

Animals Health and Wellbeing – Dr Catherine Oliver 2 - 3

An interactive session focussing on the history of the human relationship with chickens, how that changed, and why rekindling a relationship with chickens could be good for your health, the environment, and society.

Student Support through the eyes of a Legal Academic – Dr Laura Hughes-Gerber, Dr Noel McGuirk, Dr Rafael Savva 3 - 4

Lancaster Law School and putting the needs of young people at the centre of support services.

Art and Wellbeing – Dr Brian Baker 3 - 4

An exhibition and workshop using art as a therapeutic tool. With collaborative art group Troiica using a multi-disciplinary approach to contemporary art creating works heavily inspired and influenced by the relationship between mental health, wellbeing and art practices.

Young children's understanding of others' perspectives – Dr Silke Brandt 4 - 5

A participatory event showing how we measure young children's understanding of others' perspectives.

Bee the Difference – Dr Cath Hill 4 - 5

Take a seat in our public lecture theatre for an interactive session with Dr Cath Hill and the National Emergencies Trust. Including vocal performances about the project, helping people to recognise the importance of the wellbeing of children and young people after disasters.