The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh is first and foremost a scientific institution with teams of scientists working all over the world, helping conserve important plants and habitats and helping people understand why these plants really matter.

Click here for a list of events at the Botanics

This Science Festival you can come and find out more about what the garden does. Some of the highlights on offer include:

Meeting scientists and hearing about their work with plant DNA, exotic Arabian plants, soil forensics, ‘super-food’ plants and Venus fly traps!

Live satellite video link to big cat expert Marcella Kelly deep in the Maya Rainforest of Belize. Put your questions to Marcella about jaguars - one of the world’s most endangered and rarely seen species.

Special children’s workshops – gardening with the Botanic's expert team, making compost, growing your own plants, making paper and discovering sources of renewable energy.

Ethical debate with Jan Nimmo, exploring the human cost of the Latin American banana industry through her films Pura Vida and Bonita Ugly Banana.

Dawn bird watch with an RSPB expert and tours of the magnificent glasshouses at dusk.

Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Inverleith Row. Open daily from 10am to 7pm throughout the Festival. Admission Free (although some activities have a charge)

http://www.rbge.org.uk