The Science of a Night Out: Taking Pharmacology to the British Science Festival
Dr Laura Randle, Dept of Pharmacology & Therapeutics, Liverpool.
When I saw the call for activities for the British Science Festival 2025, hosted in Liverpool, my reaction was immediate excitement and a strong sense that I needed to be involved. As an experienced public engagement lead, I am always seeking opportunities to take pharmacology beyond familiar audiences and traditional formats. A national science festival aimed specifically at people who would not normally seek out science felt like the ideal space to do something ambitious.
The British Science Festival has a clear mission: to make science fun, relevant and accessible, particularly for audiences aged 18–35 who may not typically visit museums, science centres or festivals. This strongly resonated with me. While I regularly deliver engagement activities for school-aged audiences, working with adults presents a different challenge. Adults do not want science simplified to the point of losing meaning, but they do want it to feel relevant to their lives. The task, therefore, was not simplification for its own sake, but translation: communicating complex pharmacological ideas in ways that were engaging, respectful and meaningful.
Knowing the audience
Pharmacology is often presented in formal or clinical contexts, which can unintentionally create distance between the science and everyday experience. For this audience, it was important to recognise that they already interact with pharmacology daily through prescribed and over-the-counter medicines, alcohol, caffeine and recreational substances, even if they would not describe these experiences as “science”.
Rather than focusing on delivering facts or mechanisms, I wanted to create opportunities for conversation. The aim was to spark curiosity and reflection, not to deliver a lecture. This meant designing activities that invited people in, encouraged participation, and allowed exploration at their own pace.
Liverpool’s Party People
Liverpool itself played a central role in shaping the activity. Known for its nightlife, music and energy, the city provided a ready-made narrative framework. From this, Liverpool’s Party People was born. Instead of asking festival-goers to step into a laboratory or lecture theatre, we invited them into something familiar: getting ready at home, heading to a nightclub, grabbing food on the way back, and dealing with the consequences the next morning.
This journey allowed us to explore pharmacology through real-life scenarios involving both prescribed and recreational drugs, without judgement or moralising. Crucially, this framing helped normalise conversations around drug use, variability, risk and harm reduction. Pharmacology became part of a recognisable story rather than something abstract or intimidating.
Building the idea together
The activity was developed collaboratively within the Pharmacology and Therapeutics community at the University of Liverpool. Academics, technical staff and professional services colleagues contributed ideas reflecting the breadth of our research strengths, including drug metabolism, inter-individual variability, drug–drug interactions, antimicrobial resistance, and effects on different organ systems.
This collaborative process was one of the most rewarding aspects of the project. It reinforced that public engagement does not need to sit with one individual or role. When people from different backgrounds are given space to contribute creatively, ideas quickly move beyond what any one person might have imagined.
From the outset, we agreed the experience needed to be immersive and hands-on. Visitors would follow a journey rather than move between disconnected tables, with each activity building on the last. Importantly, this journey would be different for everyone — a “build your own adventure” approach reflecting the inherent variability of pharmacological responses.
Making it work on a small budget
One of the biggest challenges was the budget. At £200, it was extremely restrictive for a large-scale, immersive activity at a national festival. However, this constraint forced us to be resourceful and collaborative. A key success was partnering with the Counterspike initiative, whose work focuses on preventing drink spiking and supporting safer nightlife. Their expertise aligned perfectly with our activities, particularly those focused on drug–drug interactions and harm reduction.
This partnership added credibility, relevance and real-world impact, and helped us secure additional internal funding from the University. The experience reinforced an important lesson: effective public engagement is rarely about expensive equipment. It is about people, partnerships and purposeful design.
Bringing pharmacology to life
The final experience was intentionally interactive and slightly unpredictable. On arrival, visitors rolled a die to determine their journey through the night, introducing the idea that chance and variability play a significant role in how drugs affect individuals.
Activities included a “getting ready” station exploring metabolic polymorphisms using a beer-pong-style game; a nightclub silent disco addressing drug spiking and drug–drug interactions through light and sound, alongside heart rate and ECG traces; a late-night diner focused on drug–food interactions, alcohol and coordination; and a “morning after” lounge exploring hangxiety, sexually transmitted infections, antibiotics and antimicrobial resistance through games such as giant Jenga and a Nerf gun arcade.
Each activity was designed to prompt discussion rather than provide definitive answers. Facilitators played a crucial role in responding to questions, sharing examples and encouraging reflection, rather than delivering scripted explanations.
On the day
During the event, the space was busy from start to finish. There was a constant flow of people moving through the activities, many staying far longer than anticipated. Conversations were thoughtful, questions were perceptive, and visitors frequently shared their own experiences, which further enriched the discussions.
Perhaps most striking was how willing people were to engage with complex ideas when they felt respected and included. Topics such as variability in drug response, risk and antimicrobial resistance resonated strongly when framed within familiar contexts.
Reflections and lessons learned
Reflecting on the experience, the British Science Festival reaffirmed several key principles of effective public engagement. First, adults who may not identify as “science audiences” are not disinterested in science; they are often excluded by format or tone. This is supported by BSF25 evaluation data: across 2,245 audience surveys, 48% of respondents described themselves as not typically actively engaged in science through personal interest, work or study. This reinforced the importance of meeting audiences where they already are.
Second, context matters. When pharmacology is embedded in everyday experiences, it becomes immediately relevant and memorable. Participant feedback reflected this clearly, with comments such as: “Shows it can be fun, interesting and accessible”, “All of it felt relevant… not everyone reacts to medicine the same”, and “It’s good to make people more aware of spiking.”
Finally, evaluation data also suggested progress in reaching audiences often underrepresented in science engagement: 29.5% of attendees were from England’s 20% most deprived areas, 16% identified as queer, and 16.3% as disabled. Overall, the experience reinforced both the value and responsibility of designing engagement that is inclusive, relevant and rooted in real life — even if that happens to be on a dancefloor.
Figure 1: A BSF participant enjoying a game of beer pong to introduce metabolic polymorphisms and the potential need to alter drug doses. Photo credit: Gavin Trafford and Gareth Jones.
Figure 2: A BSF participant enjoying Counterspike’s silent disco which included public health messages about drink spiking and staying safe. Photo credit: Gavin Trafford and Gareth Jones.
Photo permissions were obtained by BSF/ UoL for these photos
