Pictured are (left to right): Etain Hamilton-Birdy, aged 10 and Dr. Niamh Shaw preparing for Baking In Space at Cork Discovers, 26 November at 7pm. ©

Photos by Stedman Photography

How will we live in the future?  

What will we eat?  

Will we run out of flour again?

‘Baking In Space’, the sell-out family event of Science Week Ireland 2018-2020, launches at Cork Discovers for the first time!

Space champion, Dr. Niamh Shaw and Great British Bake Off finalist, Andrew Smyth, will bring you on a journey from Earth to the Moon and back, with demos and bakes directly to your kitchens. Join them as they 'Bake to the Future'!

Lifting off from Earth and headed for the Moon, ‘Baking In Space – Bake to the Future' will explore our planet in lockdown, how we have learned to adapt and the parallels between living in space and living during COVID-19.

With special guests including Helen Sharman, the first British astronaut, representatives from the European Space Agency and a range of Cork researchers, together we will explore the surprising connections between everyday bakes and the extraordinary engineering that helps keep astronauts alive in space.

Packed with live demos, baking, space, scientists, engineering (aerospace/food), psychology and activities for families to do at home, we look to a Future Earth in another exciting space baking show!

'Baking In Space' is suitable for a general family audience, age 8+.

Get Involved

  • Book your FREE tickets on Eventbrite;
  • Download the Ark's 'Bake to the Future' creative activity pack (attached below). It's full of fun experiments, bakes and creative activities for all the family;
  • If you're in Ireland, enter our 'Honeycomb Moon' competition until 23 November to be in with a chance of winning some great prizes. So get baking and photo taking!
  • In the days running up to the show on 26 November, be sure to follow us on Twitter and Facebook and watch our 'Baking In Space' video challenges. Niamh and Andrew will share some great space foodie facts and set some challenges for you to try at home;
  • Share photos of your creations with us on social media. Remember to tag #BakingInSpace.

Producers/Hosts

Andrew Smyth is an aerospace engineer, baker and presenter. As a finalist on the Great British Bake Off in 2016, he grew a firm following for his outrageously engineered creations.  

Since leaving the tent, he’s presented a live cooking segment on ITV’s Lorraine, appeared as an expert contributor on shows for Discovery Science and the BBC, and even baked a rotating jet engine cake for Prince William. He currently divides his time between researching Future Aircraft at Rolls-Royce, teaching patisserie classes and presenting his “bakineering" live shows around the UK and Ireland https://www.cakesmyth.com/   

Dr. Niamh Shaw is passionate about people and curiosity, and all things space. A polymath with 2 degrees in engineering, a PhD in science and almost 20 years of performance & writing experience, she has been providing events for the general public at Science Week Ireland since 2014. On a mission to be writer-in-residence at the International Space Station, Niamh wants to connect with a wider global community using space stories to highlight sustainability issues and responsible behaviour as Earth citizens.  

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, she provided the 'Space Hub' series of segments for RTE's 'Home School Hub' educational series, and recently launched a new podcast series  'Humans of Space' and an online family video series  'Galaxy Squad'. Her first book 'Dream Big- an Irishwoman's Space Odyssey' from Mercier Press was published in March 2020 and she writes regularly for BBC’s Sky at Night magazine - https://www.niamhshaw.ie  

Special Guests

Helen Sharman became the first British astronaut when in May 1991, aged 27, she launched on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft. She spent 8 days orbiting the Earth, living and working on the MIR Space Station. She was selected from over 13,000 applicants but didn’t think she stood a chance of being chosen when she applied, after hearing an advert on the radio on her way home after work.  

After MIR, Helen became a science communicator and corporate speaker, winning numerous prizes for radio and TV programmes and for her inspirational talks on teamwork, STEM, science communication and motivation. Helen has not returned to Space but, like every other astronaut, she would love to go into Space again, experiencing the weightlessness, the camaraderie… and the amazing and beautiful views of Earth and the stars. 

Since our last Baking in Space event during Science Week 2019, Romain Charles has taken up a new role at CNES (French Space Agency), leading up the Spaceship Earth programme. While at ESA Astronaut Centre, he provided crew support for European Space Agency (ESA) astronauts heading to the International Space Station (ISS), including the current commander of the ISS, Alexander Gerst. Romain also participated in Mars500, a 523 isolated experiment as analogue Mars astronaut. 

Dr. Aidan Cowley is part of the Exploration Preparation, Research and Technolgy Team (ExPeRT) and is based at the ESA Astronaut Centre in Cologne. There, alongside the team, he works on developing the technologies needed for future human spaceflight and sustainable exploration of the Moon and Mars.

British Council Ireland are delighted to bring ‘Baking In Space – Bake to the Future’ to Cork Discovers European Researchers' Night, working with University College Cork, UCC Academy, Cork Learning City and a range of other partners and inviting audiences from across the region and beyond to join in the fun. With lots of live demonstrations, tasting and audience interaction, your curiosity will be whisked, stirred, and taken out of this world… 

Event Information

Thursday 26 November – 7pm –  Cork Discovers 

  • The online family show will last approximately 1hr and is suitable for ages 8+.
  • A link and joining instructions will be sent via email within 1 week prior to the show (registration on Eventbrite needed)

About Baking In Space 2020 

‘Baking In Space – Bake to the Future’ is part of Cork Discovers, a European Researchers' Night project funded from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 955330. It is an initiative created in partnership with British Council Ireland, Dr Niamh Shaw and Andrew Smyth. 

The ‘Bake to the Future’ creative activity pack is by Dr. Niamh Shaw with recipes from Andrew Smyth. It is commissioned and produced by The Ark, Dublin in collaboration with British Council Ireland and is funded by Science Foundation Ireland for Science Week 2020.
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