The festival today will launch the programme for its 2020 "Nano Edition" events at scifest.org.nz.
However, the so-called "nano" version of the festival will actually be much bigger than director Dan Hendra had initially imagined.
The long-running festival alternates between bigger events, held every two years, and smaller-scale activities.
The Covid-19 lockdown had prevented overseas contributors from taking part in the latest festival, which initially was to have offered more than 240 events, Mr Hendra said.
Accordingly, the adjusted "Nano Edition" was initially planned to offer 40 events, but city organisations had helped "pull together an incredible programme", and in a "bonus" development, 70 events would actually now be offered this year.
In another bonus outcome, organisers planned to run another full festival of 240 events next year, he said.
This year’s nine-day event, which takes place during the first week of the July school holidays, will be hosted at several locations across Dunedin, including at the Otago Museum.
Some events will be free, and many will cost no more than $5.
During the festival’s opening weekend, science educator Amadeo Enriquez-Ballestero will turn the College of Education Auditorium into an explosive science laboratory, to help explore the Big Bang theory, and the invention of the combustion engine.
The Big Science Show will run on July 4-5 at 2pm.
The festival and the University of Otago will also host a panel discussion on the pandemic, titled "Covid-19 Unmasked: Understanding the Pandemic" featuring Otago academics in virology, microbiology, epidemiology and public health.
The panel will comprise virologist Profs Vernon Ward, Miguel Quinones-Mateu, Michael Baker, and David Murdoch, and senior virologist Dr Jemma Geoghegan, and the discussion will be at the college auditorium on Saturday July 4 at 6pm.
