A blue police box created in Keighley “mysteriously” materialised in Bradford’s mirror pool early on Friday.

The object, similar to the Tardis famously used by Doctor Who for time-travelling, is to help promote the first Bradford Science Festival.

It is the focus of a science and literary competition for children, who are being invited to write about its appearance.

Technicians at Fab Lab Airedale – the digital fabrication laboratory in Dalton Mill, Keighley – built the box, helped by volunteers from the Yorkshire Building Society and Bradford’s Participate Projects.

To mark its arrival in the city centre, “science buskers” were on hand to demonstrate the wonders of the subject to residents and visitors.

The five-day science festival, which starts on October 17, is being organised by Space Connections, a Bradford-based education team which encourages young people to study engineering, science, technology or maths with a view to pursuing a career using related knowledge and skills.

During the festival about 5,000 young people from schools and colleges across Yorkshire will attend science workshops and demonstrations given by experts from Bradford College, Bradford Council, BASF, Fabric, Participate Projects, the National Media Museum and the University of Bradford, as well as science-promoting organisations from around the country.

Keighley and Bradford schools will also have a chance to get involved in journalism workshops and in producing a film linked to the festival.