The Wrexham Science Festival was established in 1998 to celebrate science writes Claire Waring. Over the years it has welcomed a whole host of speakers and has attracted a huge number of visitors.

This year's festival will run from Thursday, March 6, through to Saturday, March 15, with Scientriffic (a day-long programme of science fun and activities for all the family) on Saturday. The festival will be at the NEWI Plas Coch campus in Wrexham. Further details can be found at www.wrexhamsf.com.

This year will feature many events for those interested in birds and animal behaviour.

On Monday, the Welsh College of Horticulture will give a talk at 10.30am called "Animal senses" looking at such questions as how cats hunt in the dark and what whiskers are for. The presentation at 2.15pm is called "The science behind animal training" and will introduce animal intelligence, learning and behaviour. In the evening, shark expert Rachel Porter, from World Museum, Liverpool, will explain the life of a shark and what makes them so endangered in the wild.

Local bee expert Geoff Critchley will be speaking on Wednesday, March 12, at 7pm, introducing the world of bees and beekeeping. Geoff has kept bees for more than 20 years and will give a brief history of the honey bee, explain what is involved in keeping bees and describe the honey extraction and bottling process.

Those interested in owls will not want to miss the talk by the North Wales Bird Trust on Thursday at 6.30pm. Entitled 2Understanding owls", this will be a light-hearted overview of the owl's biology, behaviour, distribution and status as well as conservation strategy. As a bonus, a selection of the trust's sanctuary owls will be on display, including one of the world's least-known owls, a tiny Tengmalm's owl.

Attendance at all these events is free. To reserve places call NEWI on 01978 293473 or e-mail wideningaccess@newi.ac.uk or contact Wrexham Tourist Information Centre on 01978 292015.