FOCAL POINT Celebrate the International Year
of Biodiversity with award-winning wildlife photographer Steve Bloom
SEE PAGE 4
Programme 2010 3-17 April
BBC One’s Bang Goes The Theory team page 5
Family fun at the City Art Centre pages 6-10
Out of this world with Brian Cox page 21
Online booking: www.sciencefestival.co.uk
Full speed ahead with the BLOODHOUND page 35
Booking hotline: 0131 553 0322
WITH SPECIAL THANKS TO ALL OUR PARTNERS Our Funding Partners contribute two-thirds of the cost of our activities. Together, they allow us to engage with more than 100,000 children and adults at the Science Festival and through our schools outreach programme, Generation Science.
PRINCIPAL FUNDING PARTNERS
MAJOR FUNDING PARTNERS
FUNDING PARTNERS Barcapel Foundation
The MacRobert Trust
Design partner
VENUE AND PROGRAMME PARTNERS
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Online booking: www.sciencefestival.co.uk  Booking hotline: 0131 553 0322
Media partner
WELCOME The Science Festival in 2010 Welcome to the Edinburgh International Science Festival – Scotland’s biggest and best annual celebration of science and technology. 2010 is International Year of Biodiversity. We’re celebrating by presenting a spectacular exhibition by the award-winning photographer, Steve Bloom, in St Andrew Square (page 4), while our partners at Edinburgh Zoo (pages 12-13) and the Botanics (pages 14-17) have packed programmes of special events and activities to help you explore the worlds of plants and animals. Last year, the City Art Centre (pages 6-10) was such a hit with families that we sold out every day. For 2010, we’ve added even more events – it truly is seven floors of fantastic fun. And it isn’t just for kids! Look out for our adult evenings, when grown-ups can try some of the activities and enjoy a glass of wine (page 23). Our ‘must see’ event this year is Sonic Dreams – a new, hyper-realistic 3D sound system that fuses art and science (page 5). Meanwhile, The University of Edinburgh invites you to Discover Science (pages18-19). And if you’re still looking for activities the whole family can enjoy, we’ve teamed up with BBC One’s Bang Goes The Theory to bring their roadshow to Edinburgh from 8 to10 April (page 5). Highlights of our Big Ideas programme of talks and debates include special guests Richard Dawkins, Brian Cox, Richard Wiseman and Raj Persaud. Look out for talks on a vast range of topics, from the state of the ocean’s whales to the revolutionary sound of a rock guitar. And if you dream of developing the next Grand Theft Auto, don’t miss Video Game Studio (page 4). So, come and join in this Easter. With more than 220 events over 14 days, we guarantee explosive experiments, groundbreaking technology, state of the art graphics and much, much more… To download a day-by-day guide to what’s on at the Edinburgh International Science Festival, visit www.sciencefestival.co.uk
CONTENTS
HIGHLIGHTS
4
CITY ART CENTRE
6
BIG IDEAS FOR YOUNG MINDS EDINBURGH ZOO
11 12
BOTANICS
14
DISCOVER SCIENCE
18
AROUND THE CITY
20
BIG IDEAS
28
VENUES
36
INFORMATION & INDEX
38
BUY TICKETS
ONLINE www.sciencefestival.co.uk IN PERSON Edinburgh Festival Fringe shop 180 High Street, Edinburgh 17 February-17 April (Mon-Fri) 10am-5.30pm, (Sat) 11am-5.30pm University of Edinburgh Visitor Centre 2 Charles Street, Edinburgh 16 February-17 April (Mon-Fri) 9.30am-5.30pm City Art Centre 2 Market Street, Edinburgh 3-17 April (daily) 9.30am-4.30pm Informatics Forum University of Edinburgh,10 Crichton Street, Edinburgh 3-17 April (daily) from 30mins before first event of the day Adam House University of Edinburgh, 3 Chambers Street, Edinburgh 8-17 April (daily) 10am-5pm BY PHONE 0131 553 0322 16 February-2 April (Mon-Sat) 9am-5pm, 3-17 April (daily) 9am-5pm BEAT THE QUEUES. BOOK IN ADVANCE! Concessions For pensioners, unemployed, disabled persons and their carers*, and students (unless otherwise stated). Group discounts Please call 0131 553 0322 for more information. Refunds Tickets cannot be refunded or exchanged for Science Festival events except in the case of a cancellation. Handling charge £1 handling and postage fee per transaction for phone and on-line bookings. * Please call 0131 553 0322 for access information. INSPIRING CITY, INSPIRING PEOPLE
Edinburgh is home to a wide range of companies and individuals making inspiring advancements in the fields of science and technology. Find out about some of the amazing work that’s happening right here in Edinburgh by looking out for the special Inspiring City, Inspiring People sections throughout the programme. Download a day-by-day guide at: www.sciencefestival.co.uk
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HIGHLIGHTS From 3 to17 April, there are more than 220 Science Festival events taking place across Edinburgh. Here are just some of the highlights for 2010:
SPIRIT OF THE WILD STEVE BLOOM
A spectacular, free outdoor exhibition of 60 giant photographs of animals taken in their natural habitats by the award-winning wildlife photographer, Steve Bloom. Marvel at the beautiful images and take a journey of discovery through the exhibition. Informative and entertaining, it’s an exhibition for all ages. A unique opportunity to see one of the world’s most beautiful collections of animal photographs. 12 March -16 May (8am-6pm) • Free St Andrew Square
ALL AGES
Lead supporter:
Supported by: With thanks to Essential Edinburgh
“A revelation... Bloom’s images have a unique raw energy and a consistent message.” (The Times)
VIDEO GAME STUDIO 2-DAY INTENSIVE WORKSHOP Could you develop the next Grand Theft Auto? If you dream of a career in games development, this workshop – run by Abertay University’s renowned games design competition, Dare to be Digital – is the one for you. See behind the scenes of how a video game is created, what technology is involved and what the different development roles are. Work in a team to try out some of the current technology and create a small piece of animated video game to take home with you. See last year’s Dare to be Digital winning games in action at the St James Shopping Centre from 10 to 11 April (10am-5.30pm).
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12 & 13 April, 14 & 15 April (9am-4pm) £70 for 2-day workshop Stevenson College Edinburgh AGES 12-16 Presented in partnership with the Centre for Excellence in Computer Games Education at Abertay University.
Supported by: With thanks to Stevenson College Edinburgh
Online booking: www.sciencefestival.co.uk Booking hotline: 0131 553 0322
SONIC DREAMS ART AND SCIENCE COLLIDE Sonic Dreams is one of the most remarkable experiments at this year’s Science Festival – a ground-breaking fusion of science and art. Relax in an extraordinary ‘sound lab’ and, as the visuals and soundscapes wrap around you, embark on a fantastic journey to the heart of natural worlds, foreign cities and fabulous performances. A revolutionary 3D sound system will transport you in a way you’ve never experienced before. Not to be missed! This work is based on a new, super-realistic 3D sound system called the iXDLab, created by engineering firm ARUP and the Glasgow School of Art. For updates on the programme, visit www.sciencefestival.co.uk 3-17 April, 10am-8pm • 20 minutes £2 (No pre-booking, tickets only available at the venue on the day of the event) St Andrew Square AGES 6+ Produced by: Edinburgh International Science Festival
Sonic Dreams was developed with support from the Scottish Government’s Edinburgh Festivals Expo Fund. Supported by: With thanks to: 7N Architects, iXDesigns and the Digital Design Studio of the Glasgow School of Art, Cryptic, War Productions, Tannoy and Essential Edinburgh.
BANG GOES THE THEORY ROADSHOW 2010 Following the massive success of Bang Goes The Theory in 2009, and in celebration of the BBC’s ongoing commitment to science, the Bang Roadshow team is back on the road and heading to Edinburgh – to give everyone a chance to get hands-on with science. Visit the Bang Roadshow for your opportunity to see amazing live science shows, meet the Bang presenters and check out Dr Yan’s fascinating street science. Check out bbc.co.uk/bang for more details about the roadshow, plus clips from the show and science demos you can try at home. 8-10 April (11am-6pm) • Live shows hourly (12pm-5pm) Free • The Mound (next to RSA) ALL AGES Presented by: BBC Learning
Download a day-by-day guide at: www.sciencefestival.co.uk
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CITY ART CENTRE Running daily from 3 to 17 April (not 11 April), between 9.30am and 4.30pm, the Science Festival at the City Art Centre is seven floors of fantastic fun for all the family. Whether you’re a budding Einstein or simply into all things science – from blood and goo to Egyptian mummies and CBeebies’ Nina and the Neurons – there’s sure to be something for you.
HOW TO BOOK A Day Pass gets you into the City Art Centre to explore as many events as you like. Pre-booking your Day Pass is strongly advised to avoid queues and disappointment. Some events have a limited capacity – marked with PRE-BOOKING ADVISED You can reserve up to three of these events in advance. Check page 10 for full details of how to plan your day.
VENUE SPONSOR Wolfson Microelectronics is passionate about science and technology, and is thrilled to continue its support of the Science Festival at the City Art Centre. Edinburgh-based Wolfson provides high performance audio and ultra-low power chips for some of the world’s highest profile consumer electronic products, including Apple iPhone 3G, Sony PSP and Xbox 360. For more information, visit www.wolfsonmicro.com
LOWER GROUND FLOOR
IMAGINATION GARDEN
All activities on the Lower Ground Floor were developed with support from the Scottish Government’s Edinburgh Festivals Expo Fund.
WEE WONDER WORLD Come down the magical staircase into a world full of stories and adventure. The saga of the runaway robotic sheep, shadowy monsters under the stairs, and Grampa’s amazing levitating chair… All will be revealed when you enter the mysterious house of imagination. It’s never too early to start exploring the world! A whole floor, where cunning investigation is the solution to a mind full of curious incidents. Science playworkers will inspire and help you to investigate the unusual delights of Wee Wonder World. Children must be supervised by an accompanying adult. AGES 0-6 Wee Wonder World is a whole floor of events. The next two events are particularly popular but can be pre-booked.
PRE-BOOKING ADVISED
Venture to the bottom of the garden, where you can create your own creature! Explore and discover this new and fascinating world. 10am-4pm (half-hourly) • 20 minutes
STORYTIME TENT
PRE-BOOKING ADVISED
Enter a world where the music takes you on a journey! Feel the vibrations as you step into the story and enter the world of your imagination. 10am-4pm (half-hourly) • 20 minutes
AGES 3-6
GROUND FLOOR ED AND OUCHO’S EXCELLENT INVENTIONS Don’t waste a good idea! If you invent a gadget, draw a picture of it and bring it in. Explain your idea to our friendly experts at the Excellent Inventions workshop and they will help you discover the science and technology you’ve really been dreaming about. Every great scientist started with a dream – just like you! Why not join them? (NB Ed and Oucho will not be present at the workshops) AGES 6-12
Presented by:
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AGES 3-6
Online booking: www.sciencefestival.co.uk Booking hotline: 0131 553 0322
NINA AND THE NEURONS Inspired by experiments from the CBeebies show, Nina and the Neurons. Prepare to have fun while you find out more about the science that is all around us. (NB Nina will not be present at the workshops)
SECOND FLOOR UNWRAPPING THE MUMMY
AGES 3-6
PRE-BOOKING ADVISED
We need an archaeologist – can you help? An Egyptian mummy has been discovered and we need you to enter the ceremonial chamber, unwrap its bandages and find out how the mummy died.
10am-4pm (half-hourly) • 45 minutes
AGES 7+
RAMPAGING CHARIOTS
Presented by:
FIRST FLOOR MADLAB AND MADLAB R.O.V. Learn about the secrets of soldering, then make your very own working electronic toy. New for this year – tap out a rhythm on a funky drum machine. Also, the return of our remote-controlled underwater submarine, and lots of other old favourites. Kits cost from £3, R.O.V. submarine £22
AGES 7+
Circuit boards supplied by Zot Engineering. R.O.V. originally developed by Robert Gordon University
Race a powerful robot round a challenging obstacle course, and then pitch your skills against your opponent in our Robot Football Champions League. Once you’ve seen what your robot is capable of, why not build your own in our special workshop which shows you how to construct, design and build a Rampaging Chariot from scratch. Once driven, never forgotten! Racing Arena • 10am-4pm (hourly) Workshop: Build your own robot
LASER LAB
PRE-BOOKING ADVISED
Create your own unique hologram to take home with you, and celebrate the 50th anniversary of the invention of the laser. (NB A small additional charge for materials will apply)
10am-3pm (hourly) • 45 minutes
AGES 8+ Developed with and supported by: University of St Andrews
THIRD FLOOR JUNGLE SAFARI
GOOD VIBRATIONS Come on an amazing voyage and discover how noise works with the Maestro and his assistant, Bella. They know a lot about music but need your help to make sounds using a variety of instruments. A hilarious, engaging, fast-paced show with music, sound and technology. 3-10 April (2pm, 2.45pm, 3.30pm, 4.15pm), 12-17 April (10am, 10.45am, 11.30am, 12.15pm) 30 minutes AGES 3+
BODY BUILDERS In this energetic and entertaining show, learn how the body is put together and why it’s so important to keep it in good shape. Meet Dr Watson and a variety of patients who fart and itch a bit too much! 3-10 April (10am, 10.45am, 11.30am, 12.15pm), 12-17 April (2pm, 2.45pm, 3.30pm, 4.15pm) 30 minutes AGES 3+
AGES 5+
AGES 8+
Presented and supported by:
PRE-BOOKING ADVISED
Let us take you on an incredible and memorable journey through the deepest, darkest region of the jungle to learn about the world of animal sounds and noises! Put on your safari gear and join our research scientists to learn about some of the amazing ways animals communicate. 10am-4pm (half-hourly) • 40 minutes
AGES 6+
Supported by:
AUDIO VISUAL AREA Sit down and relax for a few minutes in the hustle and bustle of the Science Festival and watch while Professor Richard Wiseman introduces you to a collection of videos of curious and intriguing psychological experiments. ALL AGES Supported by:
Download a day-by-day guide at: www.sciencefestival.co.uk
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CITY ART CENTRE LEGO ROBOSPORTS
PRE-BOOKING ADVISED
Using the latest NXT generation of LEGO MINDSTORM robots, we set you some challenging problems to solve using these fantastic machines. Programme your robot to negotiate a pathway, then carry out a special mission. This is a workshop for those with some experience of LEGO MINDSTORM. If you’re a beginner, try Adventure-Bots and the Temple God on the Fifth Floor. 10am-4pm (hourly) • 45 minutes
AGES 9+
TOMORROW’S FUTURE HOMES With 30% of all CO2 emissions coming from housing, our future homes and their design play an important role. Scottish product inventions and system innovations have the potential to have a global reach towards future low carbon targets and sustainable construction. Come and see the types of material technologies and innovations that will shape our future homes. ALL AGES Presented and supported by: Institute for Sustainable Construction, Edinburgh Napier University
PRE-BOOKING ADVISED
Emergency, emergency – there’s been an accident. Here’s your chance to scrub up and save some lives at the all-new ER surgery. 10am-4pm (hourly) 40 minutes
AGES 8+
THE BLOOD BAR New for 2010! Prepare to be grossed out at the Blood Bar as you make your own blood-curdling scabs, mix up a gooey blood milkshake and even touch a real heart (if you’re feeling brave)! Explore the science of blood and see how we can diagnose disease with some cutting-edge technology in two different workshops. Take a closer look at the heart, lungs and oxygen in Don’t hold your breath, and find out what really happens when we get cuts and bruises in the Scab lab.
Supported by:
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10am-4pm (half-hourly) • 20 minutes
AGES 7+
Supported by:
Transform into a scientist as you step into the Medical Research Council lab, put on your white coat and safety specs, and try our exciting experiments. You’ll be able to build your own healthy stem cell and take part in ‘live’ experiments to test your reaction times, verbal skills and just how left- or right-handed you are – you might get a surprise. You can make a test-tube baby and examine its DNA, and build your own virus… then figure out what diseases it might cause. You’ll get to meet some real scientists too! Contributors: MRC Human Genetics Unit, MRC Human Reproductive Sciences Unit, MRC Protein Phosphorylation Unit, MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, MRC Virology Unit, MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine and the Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology. AGES 7+ Presented and supported by:
FIFTH FLOOR ADVENTURE-BOTS AND THE TEMPLE GOD
Supported by:
9.45am-4.15pm (half-hourly)
Do you pick your scabs? Ever wondered how they’re made? Clamber into an artery and crawl through a capillary as you follow Dr Clot on his incredible adventure through the blood stream. Help him carry oxygen, battle bacteria and create a blood-curdling blood clot.
WHAT ARE SCIENTISTS MADE OF? THE SAME AS YOU!
Supported by:
FOURTH FLOOR ER
DR CLOT’S BLOOD-CURDLING PRE-BOOKING ADVISED ADVENTURE
AGES 8+
PRE-BOOKING ADVISED
Using a specially designed version of LEGO MINDSTORM NXT technology, build and programme smart robots to out-smart temple gods, battle deadly snakes and search for hidden treasure! Take part in a robotics adventure like no other. Your mission awaits. 10am-4pm (hourly) • 45 minutes
AGES 8+
SHADOWGRAMS PHOTOLAB Create and develop your own beautiful picture to take home by arranging unusual objects on a glass plate and exposing the pattern onto a piece of photographic paper in the dark room. Chemistry has never been so cool! AGES 7+
Online booking: www.sciencefestival.co.uk Booking hotline: 0131 553 0322
INSPIRING CITY, INSPIRING PEOPLE
SCOTLAND: POWERHOUSE OF GENIUS A whole floor of activities that focus on Scotland’s world-leading efforts in renewable energy and the fight against climate change.
INTRODUCTORY WIND TURBINE WORKSHOP
PUFFERFISH
Make a simple wind turbine, and test it in the wind tunnel. Choose the best spot on the hillside to get your turbine to turn as fast as possible. AGES 5+
ADVANCED WIND TURBINE WORKSHOP Want to understand more about how turbines convert wind power into electricity? This is the workshop for you. Assemble a turbine and a generator, and test the performance of your invention. (NB Additional £3 charge for components) AGES 7+
Pufferfish specialise in innovative 360° spherical display systems, and work at the intersection of media, art and technology with a global client base. Their flagship solution, the PufferSphere®, can be used in a myriad of commercial, educational and artistic projects – from distinctive branding opportunities, experiential advertising and marketing promotions, to educational installations, exhibitions, stand, stage and set design. Pufferfish’s clients include Disney, Google, the National Oceanography Centre, The University of Edinburgh Inspace, the Eurovision Song Contest and Coldplay’s Viva La Vida world tour. Newington, Edinburgh
WAVE POWER WORKSHOP
www.pufferfishdisplays.co.uk
Build a simple wave power device and test it in our massive wave tank. Along the way, see how innovative Scottish companies are making use of wave power to generate electricity. AGES 7+
LAB IN A LORRY
A game show for parents and children in which we challenge you to work out how to stop heat leaking from model houses. Play the game against the clock and try to beat those around you by saving the most energy – and money. AGES 5+
Want to find out if you can smash a wine glass using sound? Want to know about climate change and renewable energy? New for this year is the Camera Optics experiment. Make your own pinhole camera and learn how it works. Then learn how to produce your own digital camera image. Enter the amazing mobile science lab and experiment!
COSY COSY GAME SHOW
12-17 April • 10am-4pm (half-hourly) 30 minutes Organised by: Institute of Physics
Supported by:
OUTSIDE CITY ART CENTRE PRE-BOOKING ADVISED DIG UP A DINOSAUR Millions of years ago, dinosaurs ruled the Earth. Help us dig for bones, and use your skills to brush away the sand to see what you can find. One of our most popular events!
10am-4pm (every 45 minutes) 40 minutes Supported by:
PRE-BOOKING ADVISED
AGES 8+
AGES 10+
WILD BUS – THE ROYAL ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF SCOTLAND PRE-BOOKING ADVISED CENTENARY TOUR Get on board our bus and discover more about the rainforest from our education staff. Meet our animals on tour, including snakes, snails and cockroaches.
6-10 April • 11am-3pm (hourly) 45 minutes
AGES 5+
Organised by: Edinburgh Zoo
Download a day-by-day guide at: www.sciencefestival.co.uk
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CITY ART CENTRE OPENING HOURS
DAY PASSES
3-17 April (9.30am-4.30pm) (not 11 April) Allow 4-5 hours
Adult Adult concession Child aged 7+
£6.50 £5.00 £8.50
Child aged 3-6 Child under 3
£6.00 FREE
FACILITIES Packed lunch area, secure buggy park, cloakroom, café and shop. You are strongly advised to purchase your Day Pass in advance as the City Art Centre is extremely busy during the Science Festival. Some events have limited capacity but you can reserve up to three in advance with the purchase of a Day Pass. Use the grid below to plan your day.
SECOND
LWR GD
START TIMES
10:00 10:30 11:00 11:30 12:00 12:30 01:00 01:30 02:00 02:30 03:00 03:30 04:00 04:30
Imagination Garden (20 mins) Storytime Tent (20 mins)
Unwrapping the Mummy (45 mins)
THIRD
Rampaging Chariots (45 mins)
Jungle Safari (40 mins)
FIFTH
FOURTH
LEGO Robosports (45 mins) ER (40 mins) Dr Clot’s Blood-curdling Adventure (20 mins) Adventure-bots and the Temple God (45 mins)
OUTSIDE
Dig up a Dinosaur (40 mins)
Lab in a Lorry (30 mins) (12-17 April) Wild Bus (45 mins) (6-10 April)
GIFT AID SCHEME The Edinburgh Science Foundation, which runs the Edinburgh International Science Festival, is a charity and all ticket prices for City Art Centre events include a 10% donation. This allows us to reclaim the tax you pay to visit through the Gift Aid Scheme – every pound you pay is worth £1.28 to us. These donations help make the Science Festival accessible to those on lower incomes. If you are not a UK taxpayer or do not wish to make a charitable donation, the admission prices for the City Art Centre are as follows: adults (£5.90), adult concessions (£4.54), child aged 7+ (£7.72), child aged 2-6 (£5.45).
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Online booking: www.sciencefestival.co.uk Booking hotline: 0131 553 0322
BIG IDEAS FOR YOUNG MINDS The Science Festival’s programme of discussion and debate isn’t just for grown-ups. These special author-led events for children take place at the Informatics Forum as part of Big Ideas (see pages 28-35 for the full programme and events suitable for young adults).
FELICITY FROBISHER AND THE THREEHEADED ALDEBARAN DUST DEVIL The trouble with Three-Headed Aldebaran Dust Devils is that they dust things up and, if you happen to have one as a friend, it’s always you that gets the blame… on account of them being totally invisible! With Marcus Chown. 10 April (10am) • 1 hour • £4 AGES 7+ Organised by: Faber and Faber
YOUR PLANET NEEDS YOU! – A KID’S GUIDE TO GOING GREEN
Join Lucy Hawking to discover the mysteries of physics, science and the Universe with George and his new friends next door – the scientist Eric and his daughter Annie. Not forgetting a superintelligent computer known as Cosmos, which can take them to the edge of a black hole and back again. 17 April (10am) •1 hour • £4 Organised by: Random House
AGES 8+
JIMMY’S FOOD FACTORY
The Earth needs an army of champions to take on the greatest challenge of the 21st century – an army of people who want to make a difference! Join Dave Reay to discover why cows have really bad breath, why eating soup in Alaska is so dangerous, and how EVERYONE can be a global warming warrior. 10 April (12noon) • 1 hour • £4 Organised by: MacMillan Children’s Books
GEORGE’S COSMIC TREASURE HUNT
AGES 7+
Find out about the hidden science in the food on your shelf. What is instant coffee, homogenised milk and processed cheese? In his TV series, Jimmy Doherty investigated the science and technology behind supermarket food. Join The One Show’s science expert, Marty Jopson, who designed, built and set up all Jimmy’s equipment. He’ll take you backstage, reveal the thinking behind the experiments and demonstrate them live on stage. (NB Jimmy will not be present) 10 April (2pm) • 1 hour • £4
Download a day-by-day guide at: www.sciencefestival.co.uk
AGES 8+
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EDINBURGH ZOO During this year’s Science Festival, Edinburgh Zoo will be bursting with exclusive events and activities for all ages. Some events are free with admission to the Zoo. For all others, book through the Science Festival on 0131 553 0322 or visit www.sciencefestival.co.uk
EDINBURGH ZOO REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE
ENRICHMENT WORKSHOP
Make zoo animal sculptures using rubbish! Come along and discover how creative you can be with rubbish – stick, fold, scrunch, crush, paste, build, paint… it’s up to you!
Encouraging natural behaviour in our animals through enrichment is an important part of their ongoing development. Create your own challenge for our animals and watch their reactions as they puzzle over it.
3-4 April (11am) • Free with admission to Edinburgh Zoo • Education Centre
ALL AGES
WOLVES IN SCOTLAND DEBATE We’re all familiar with stories involving wolves such as Little Red Riding Hood, The Jungle Book and Three Little Pigs. This debate asks if wolves should be reintroduced to Scotland. Have your say and join in a lively discussion on this interesting topic. 6 April (7.30pm) • 1 hour 30 mins £7/£5 • Education Centre
AGES 14+
LIVING LINKS TO HUMAN EVOLUTION Monkeys and apes are our closest relatives. Here, university scientists are studying social groups of capuchin and squirrel monkeys to better understand the roots of our psychology and behaviour. Watch our ongoing studies, chat with our scientists and explore a variety of interactive exhibits. 6-10 April (10am-4pm) • Free with admission to Edinburgh Zoo • Living Links ALL AGES
READING BY RUTH PADEL Ruth Padel will read from her acclaimed lyric biography of her great-great-grandfather, Charles Darwin, and from her new novel, Where the Serpent Lives, set in the woodlands of Devon and the forests of India. 8 April (7pm) • 1 hour 30 mins £7/£5 • Budongo Lecture Theatre
AGES 14+
SCIENCE FESTIVAL SLEEPOVER The ultimate sleepover! When the sun goes down, the Zoo comes alive. Find out which animals are active at night and learn about their unusual habits on our torch-lit trails. 9 April (6pm-9am) • £50
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AGES 9-12
10 and 11 April (11am) • Free with admission to Edinburgh Zoo • Education Centre ALL AGES
COW POST MORTEM What makes a cow interesting? The fact it has four stomachs, has a small intestine measuring 20 times its length, or has a tongue weighing three pounds? Find out more exciting facts as our Zoo vets perform a cow post mortem! 13 April (10.30am – access to park from 10.10am) 2 hours • £11/£9 AGES 16+
WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD FOR CHIMPANZEES? Klaus Zuberbuhler, Scientific Director of Budongo Conservation Field Station, talks about the organisation’s research in Uganda over the past five years. The survival of chimpanzees, like many primates, is currently threatened, and their protection in their natural habitat is one of Klaus’s primary responsibilities. Find out more about the conservation strategies he supports. 16 April (6pm) • 1 hour £7/£5 • Budongo Lecture Theatre
AGES 14+
BIODIVERSITY IN 2010 The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is tasked with helping the world find pragmatic solutions to our most pressing environment challenges. Come along and find out what biodiversity means to Director General Julia Marton-Lefèvre. 17 April (4pm) • 1 hour 30 mins £7/£5 • Budongo Lecture Theatre
Online booking: www.sciencefestival.co.uk Booking hotline: 0131 553 0322
AGES 14+
We’ve listed just some of our highlights opposite. Visit www.sciencefestival.co.uk or www.edinburghzoo.org.uk to find out more about what we’ve got on offer, including:
NATIVE WILDLIFE AT THE ZOO
Join us to take part in a snapshot study of native species that live in, and use, the Zoo grounds.
WHO WANTS TO BE A SCIENTIST?
BIODIVERSITY PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP
Take pictures of our many different species with help and advice from our keepers.
Or a vet? Or a zookeeper? Or an education officer? Or a conservationist? Find out more about some of the work and careers of staff at the Zoo.
CSI ANIMAL
CHIMP CAM
ZOO LAB
Discover what our chimps have been recording as we let them loose with chimp-proof cameras.
BEAVER TRACKING
Track our beavers and find out more about the first beavers in Scotland for 400 years.
A GREENER ZOO
How green is your Zoo? How green are you? Find out more about what we can all do to slow down global warming.
Investigate different clues, such as tracks, hair and feathers, to identify many animals. Examine a feather under a microscope or analyse a dung sample – the choice is yours!
ANIMAL QUESTION TIME
Any burning zoo or animal questions? It’s your chance to ask a panel of experts anything you want to know!
THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY! From anteaters to zebras… Come along and see our exotic animal X-ray records and ask our Zoo vets any questions about animals’ insides!
Download a day-by-day guide at: www.sciencefestival.co.uk
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BOTANICS Celebrate nature’s jigsaw with a closer look at the diversity of living things. During the Science Festival, the Botanics – and the new John Hope Gateway building in particular – will be bursting with a wonderful variety of things to see and do. Come and see us from 3 to 18 April.
ROYAL BOTANIC GARDEN EDINBURGH Here are a few tips to help you make the most of your time at the Botanics. Unless stated otherwise: • talks, workshops and shows take place in the Patrick Geddes Room (upstairs in the John Hope Gateway), • drop-in events take place in the Real Life Science Studio (on the ground floor of the John Hope Gateway), • walks in the Garden start at the Gateway reception desk, • the events listed are free of charge, and children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult. To reserve your place at talks/workshops taking place in the Patrick Geddes Room or RSPB walks, please sign up on the day at the Gateway reception desk (first come, first served).
BIG ON BIODIVERSITY EVOLVING LANDSCAPES
Come and meet Dr Woody and his marvellous machine, and learn all about the carbon dioxide in our air – what it is and how it causes the greenhouse effect. You’ll be amazed at nature’s solution to reducing the amount of CO2 in our atmosphere. 5-18 April (not 12, 13 April) • 10am, 1pm, 3.30pm 30 minutes • Show • £2 (book in advance or on the door) AGES 5+ Presented in association with:
Make a unique plant for our ‘evolving landscape’. University of Edinburgh demonstrators will help you develop your plant, and choose its scent, colour and shape. Then, add it to an intricate canvas landscape that will get bigger and brighter with every visitor. 3-18 April (10am-5pm) • Drop-in
DR WOODY’S TREEMENDOUS TREE TRICK
ALL AGES
BOTANICS’ BIODIVERSITY TRAIL Variety is the spice of life! It is also vital for keeping an ecosystem healthy. Find out about biodiversity, and see examples of the amazing variety of life all round the Garden, with a special self-guided trail. 3-20 April (10am-5pm) • Drop-in ALL AGES Pick up your trail from the Gateway reception desk
PHENOLOGY This year’s Science Festival coincides with the Botanical Society of Scotland’s International Conference on the Science of Phenology. Make the most of the opportunity to learn more about phenology, the study of nature’s signs of the seasons, and how these are influenced by climate. 9 April • 5pm (Talk on the Effects of Climate Change), 6.15pm (Refreshments), 7pm (Talk on Monitoring Phenology) RBGE Lecture Theatre, 20A Inverleith Row (no booking required) AGES 12+
TALKING TREES STORYTELLING Join the Talking Trees Storytellers for a wonderful selection of tales of plants and animals from around the world.
DAILY GARDEN WALKS
11, 18 April (2pm) • 1 hour • Show
Celebrate the seasons and join our expert Garden Guides on a tour of the Garden.
BIO BANK
1 Apr-31 Oct (11am, 2pm) • 1 hour • Walk £3 from Botanics Shop in the John Hope Gateway (No advance booking required) AGES 15+
14
AGES 5+
The RBGE’s Herbarium of around 3 million preserved plant specimens is a working collection that enables plant biodiversity to be understood. Take part in a behind-the-scenes tour. 14-16 April (1pm) • 1 hour • Tour • Meet at the RBGE office reception, 20A Inverleith Row AGES 12+
Online booking: www.sciencefestival.co.uk Booking hotline: 0131 553 0322
SONGS AT SUNRISE
ENLIGHTENMENT – BEHIND THE SCENES
Enjoy an early morning tour of the Garden, honing your bird identification skills and taking a closer look at some interesting plants with an expert from the RSPB and an experienced RBGE Garden Guide. Bring your binoculars!
Photographer David McIntyre will give an insight into how the Enlightenment exhibition was created, and the unique glimpses he got into the scientific research being conducted by Scottish Research Institutes forming the Knowledge Scotland partnership.
14, 16 April (7am-8.30am) • 1 hour 30 mins • Walk Free (spaces are limited and booking is essential) Email events@rbge.org.uk to book AGES 12+
17 April (2pm) • 1 hour • Talk
AGES 12+
EDIBLE BIODIVERSITY POTATOES GALORE!
3-4 APRIL
EXHIBITIONS QUESTIONING EVOLUTION? EVOLVING ANSWERS! Find out how evolution makes the most of simple systems to produce the huge diversity of plants in nature, and how scientists are using their understanding of these systems to help improve our food. Presented by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council. 3-21 April (9.30am-7pm) • Free John Hope Gateway, Ground Floor
AGES 12+
ENLIGHTENMENT An arts exhibition by photographer David McIntyre interpreting scientific research being conducted by Scottish Research Institutes forming the Knowledge Scotland partnership. 3 April-9 May (9.30am-7pm) • Free John Hope Gateway, First Floor
AGES 8+
DE RERUM NATURA: THE NATURE OF THINGS Artist Ronnie Forbes spent three years at the Scottish Crop Research Institute, working with crop geneticists, pathologists, micro-biologists and other scientists there. De Rerum Natura showcases the work he produced during his residency, which was supported by the Leverhulme Trust. 3 April-3 May (9.30am-7pm) • Free John Hope Gateway, Ground Floor
AGES 12+
CHOOSING OUR TOMORROWS It is the year 2050. How has society reacted and adapted to climate change? This resource explores what life could be like in 2050 through the video diaries of three members of the same Scottish farming family as they experience three very different futures. Presented by the Macaulay Land Use Research Institute. 3 April-3 May (9.30am-7pm) • Free John Hope Gateway, Ground Floor
AGES 7+
Potatoes are hugely important to Scotland’s rural economy and to food security around the world, but can often be threatened by disease. The Commonwealth Potato Collection safeguards 80 different species of wild and cultivated potato – come and discover how different they are! Presented by the Scottish Crop Research Institute. 3-4 April (10am-5pm) • Drop-in
AGES 5+
WHEAT AND TWO VEG Humans have used genetic diversity within wild plant species to selectively breed the crops we’re familiar with today. Explore this diversity for yourself through tasty, hands-on experiments for grownups with everyday foodstuffs like wheat and cabbage! Check out www.sciencefestival.co.uk for the detailed timetable. With the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council. 3-4 April (10am-5pm) • Workshops
AGES 12+
BIODIVERSITY IN THE GARDEN POND DIPPING
5-6 APRIL
Do you know your bugs from your beasties, your creepies from your crawlies? Come and see what lurks at the bottom of our ponds. With the Garden Rangers. 5-6 April (11am, 2.30pm) • 1 hour 30 mins Drop-in • Meeting point to be confirmed, please check signs at the gates AGES 3+
MEET THE GAMETOPHYTE The Botanics’ fern collection is internationally important, but did you know that the early stages in the life-cycle of the fern is a real struggle for survival? Come and find out where ferns come from and explore their secret lives. With Heather McHaffie, RBGE. 5-6 April (11.30am) • 45 minutes • Talk
AGES 5+
BIODIVERSITY IN THE BOTANICS The Botanics is known for its plant diversity, but did you know that there are lots of animals which thrive in the Garden too? Meet the man who keeps track of wildlife in the Garden. With Robert Mill, RBGE. 5-6 April (2pm) • 45 minutes • Talk
Download a day-by-day guide at: www.sciencefestival.co.uk
AGES 12+
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BOTANICS GARDENING FOR LIFE The National Trust for Scotland manages some of Scotland’s most important historic gardens. Find out how they encourage wildlife to thrive in the garden. With the National Trust for Scotland. 5-6 April (10am-5pm) • Drop-in
AGES 5+
BIODIVERSITY IN THE SKY WILD ABOUT BUTTERFLIES
Butterflies and moths rely on our native plants for much of their complex life cycle. Find out more and sow some seeds to start your own butterfly-friendly garden or make a colourful fingerpuppet. With Butterfly Conservation Scotland. 10-11 April (10am-5pm) • Drop-in
GARDEN BUG Plants provide food and shelter for all sorts of animals. Come and plant some seeds to take home and find out how you can encourage wildlife in your garden or neighbourhood. With The Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens, National Trust for Scotland and Scottish Allotments and Gardens Society. 6 April (10am-5pm) • Drop-in
HIDDEN BIODIVERSITY DISEASE DETECTIVES
AGES 5+ 7-9 APRIL
There is an amazing biodiversity of pathogens which infect living things. Discover how we can detect them for the purposes of diagnosing and tracking disease outbreaks – and creating vaccines that will protect against different strains of a particular pathogen. Just drop in or become a disease detective with an interactive workshop to find out ‘Who done it?’ and ‘Who got it?’. With the Moredun Research Institute. Drop-in: 7-9 April (10am-5pm)
AGES 5+
Talks: 7 April (11.30am, 2pm), 8 April (2pm) 45 minutes AGES 8+
THE GUT HOUSE Come and explore the biodiversity within us, and find out when biodiversity can actually be detrimental to our health! Just drop in or sign up to take part in an interactive workshop to discover the organisms living inside us. With the Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health, University of Aberdeen. Drop-in: 7-9 April (10am-5pm)
AGES 5+
Workshops: 8 April (11.30am), 9 April (11.30am, 2pm) • 45 minutes
AGES 8+
CSI BOTANICS
7-9 April (10am-5pm) • Drop-in Forensics Tent – follow signs on arrival
ALL AGES
BIRDS, BIRDS, BIRDS Meet the RSPB and learn about the biodiversity of the sky! There’ll be guided bird walks in the gardens and fascinating information to take away. Don’t miss out on our fun activities for kids, including crafts and face-painting! 10-11 April (10am-5pm) • Drop-in
AGES 5+
WALK ON THE WILD SIDE Find out more about biodiversity in the sky by joining the RSPB for a guided walk around the beautiful Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. Learn about the fascinating lives of our feathered friends and the different ways you can help them throughout the year. With the RSPB. 10-11 April (11am, 2.30pm) • 1 hour Walk
ALL AGES
MOUNTAIN BIODIVERSITY 12-13 APRIL BIODIVERSITY, MOUNTAINS, INSECTS Scottish mountains have unique species that live on their high tops including the magnificent eagle, ptarmigan and mountain hare, as well as the less well known butterflies and tiny insects. Explore the biodiversity of our wild mountain areas with scientists from the John Muir Trust and National Museums Scotland. 12-13 April (10am-4pm) • Drop in
AGES 5+
THE PIPIT RUN Play the Pipit Run game to discover how a meadow pipit sees the world – foraging for food, feeding chicks and avoiding being eaten! See how upland management can affect our upland birds. With the Macaulay Land Use Research Institute. 12 April (2pm-5pm), 14 April (10am-1pm)
Use your detective skills to solve the crime. With clues from plants and the help of the forensics team can you work out whodunnit? With the University of Edinburgh and the Botanical Society of Scotland. AGES 10+
Drop in
AGES 5+
CHILLING OUT WITH MOUNTAIN FERNS Mountains ferns in Scotland depend on a covering of snow during the winter months to keep them safe.What happens when there is no snow and the ferns are exposed to frost and wind? With Heather McHaffie, RBGE. 12 April (10.30am), 13 April (4pm) 45 minutes • Talk
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10-11 APRIL
Online booking: www.sciencefestival.co.uk Booking hotline: 0131 553 0322
AGES 12+
MOUNTAIN BIODIVERSITY AND MOUNTAIN INVERTEBRATES
PROTECTING BIODIVERSITY 16-18 APRIL PROTECTING PLANT DIVERSITY
Find out more about animals and insects that live in the mountains with a special talk from Dr Mike Daniels (Chief Scientific Officer at the John Muir Trust) and Dr Graham Rotheray (Principal Curator of Insects at National Museums Scotland).
Staff from the Botanics work with local experts in more than 40 countries around the world to identify and protect plant diversity. Hear about some of their projects and find out how important naming plants is to conservation efforts. With the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.
12 April (12pm), 13 April (2.30pm) 1 hour • Talk
AGES 12+
16-18 April (10am-5pm) • Drop-in
AGES 5+
MOUNTAINS AROUND THE WORLD
BAGS OF BIODIVERSITY
Find out what makes mountains and how plants and animals live in them. With Dr Rob Brooker from the Macaulay Land Use Research Institute.
Join staff and volunteers from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh to sow your very own seeds to take home and grow.
12 April (2pm), 13 April (10.30am) 45 minutes • Talk
AGES 8+
AGES 3+
EXPLORING BIODIVERSITY IN NEPAL
WHAT GROWS ON SCOTLAND’S MOUNTAINS? Discover what grows on Scotland’s mountains and learn how it might change if the climate changes. With Professor Alison Hester from the Macaulay Land Use Research Institute.
Meet the RBGE botanists exploring the plant life of Nepal – hear about their amazing expeditions and learn more about this key area of biodiversity. With Dr Mark Watson and Dr Colin Pendry, RBGE. 16-17 April (11am) • 45 minutes • Talk
12 April (3pm), 13 April (11.30am) 45 minutes • Talk
AGES 8+
MOUNTAINS AS WATER TOWERS See mountains in a whole new light by looking at the role they play in the Earth’s water systems. Dr Simon Langan from the Macaulay Land Use Research Institute. 12 April (4pm), 13 April (12.30pm) 45 minutes • Talk
FOREST BIODIVERSITY FORESTS FOR ALL
16-18 April (10am-5pm) • Drop-in Outside John Hope Gateway (take Real Life Science Studio exit)
AGES 8+ 14-15 APRIL
Trees, woods and forests are important to us all in Scotland in terms of the economy, our communities and the environment. Find out about the key role they play in helping us tackle climate change, and how they are also affected by climate change itself. With Forestry Commission Scotland and Forest Research. 14-15 April (11am-4pm) • Drop-in
AGES 5+
GUM TREE The gum ‘chicle’ from the Central American chicozapote tree is the traditional base for chewing gum. In Mexico and Belize, sustainable production of the organic gum is helping to conserve rainforest and support local communities. With Chris Minty, RBGE. 14-15 April (4.30pm) • 30 minutes • Talk
AGES 5+
RED VS GREY The battle of the squirrels. Come and learn all about what happens when alien species are introduced to Scotland. What happens to our native species, and what impact does it have on our biodiversity? With the Scottish Wildlife Trust. Drop in: 16 April (10am-5pm) • Talk by Ken Neil, Tayside Red Squirrel Project Officer: 16 April (2pm) 45 minutes AGES 5+
WILDLIFE WATCH! Meet your local Wildlife Watch Club! Come along for wildlife games and activities. Learn about the UK’s wildlife and what you can do to help. With the Scottish Wildlife Trust. 17 April (10am-5pm) • Drop-in
AGES 5+
BEAVERS! The first mammal to be reintroduced in the British Isles… ever! After being hunted to extinction 400 years ago, beavers are back! Have a go at radio tracking and learn why beavers are so important to the natural environment of Scotland. With the Scottish Wildlife Trust. 18 April (10am-5pm) • Drop-in
AGES 5+
AGES 5+
Download a day-by-day guide at: www.sciencefestival.co.uk
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DISCOVER SCIENCE Discover Science with The University of Edinburgh at the Museum is an exciting range of hands-on science activities for families, provided mainly by University staff and students. It runs from 8 to 17 April at three venues: the National Museum of Scotland (the Museum); Adam House, Chambers Street (across the road from the Museum), and the George Square Theatre.
THE MUSEUM/ADAM HOUSE Discover Science includes drop-in events, workshops and shows. Drop-in activities run daily from 10am to 5pm. All drop-in events are free and you don’t need a ticket. Workshop and show times are listed below. You must book workshop and show tickets in advance (some are free), from the Science Festival box office or, subject to availability, during the event at the Discover Science ticket desks in the Museum and Adam House.
DROP IN ACTIVITIES
free, no ticket required
SCI-FUN AT DISCOVER SCIENCE
WHY ARE SUPERBUGS ‘SUPER’?
A wide range of engaging science activities for a wide range of people!
Explore the science of superbugs with interactive games.
8-17 April • Adam House
AGES 7+
8-12 April • Special Exhibition Gallery, Museum Level 3
AGES 5+
LHC AND THE SECRET OF MASS
MEET THE MEDICS AND VETS
Do you want to detect particles from outer space or drive your own particle accelerator and find out what the Higgs Boson is?
Edinburgh scientists in Medicine and Veterinary Medicine show what they do.
8-17 April • Special Exhibition Gallery, Museum Level 3
12-17 April • Hawthornden Court, Museum Level 1
AGES 10+
AGES 5+
MATHS IS MAGIC!
POP-UP ENGINEERING
Explore the intriguing world of mathematics with activities, games, puzzles and facts.
Make your own pop-ups: turn flat cardboard shapes into impressive 3D models with these clever engineering mechanisms.
8-12 April • Special Exhibition Gallery, Museum Level 3
13-17 April • Special Exhibition Gallery, Museum Level 3
AGES 7+
DISCOVER BIODIVERSITY This year is International Year of Biodiversity. Let’s celebrate the mind-boggling range of living things on our amazing planet. 8-12 April Special Exhibition Gallery, Museum Level 3 AGES 7+
FIRE AND ICE Discover with our geoscientists how volcanoes and glaciers formed the land we live in. 13-17 April • Special Exhibition Gallery, Museum Level 3
AGES 10+
R2D2 – WHERE ARE YOU? Why is it so hard to build an intelligent robot? Find out more with our friendly Informatics students. 13-17 April • Special Exhibition Gallery, Museum Level 3
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AGES 7+
Online booking: www.sciencefestival.co.uk Booking hotline: 0131 553 0322
AGES 7+
tickets required (tickets for some workshops are free)
WORKSHOPS BUILD A MONSTER
GM’LL FIX IT? Decide with the Gene Jury team whether monsters should uncover their gene secrets. 8-12 April (11am) • 1 hour Free but ticketed Dunfermline Room, Museum Level 0 AGES 6-10
Genes can’t be changed by us. Or can they? Join the Gene Jury team down on the farm and discover the importance of genes. 8-12 April (2pm) • 1 hour • Free but ticketed Dunfermline Room, Museum Level 0 AGES 10-13
ROBOTASTER Build LEGO robots using sensors and motors, and learn to program them using logic and reasoning. 13-17 April (11am, 2.30pm) • 2 hours £3 • Adam House
AGES 9-15
tickets required (tickets for some shows are free)
SHOWS THE CHEMISTRY SHOW
IT IS ROCKET SCIENCE!
Find out how chemistry can be colourful, loud and always exciting with fascinating facts and live experiments. 9 April (2pm), 10-11 April (1pm), 16-17 April (1pm) 45 minutes • Free but ticketed Adam House AGES 7+
SURVIVAL: ANCIENT SENSES IN A MODERN WORLD The dangers may have changed since prehistoric times, but our senses haven’t. An interactive show. 11, 13, 15-17 April (3.30pm), 12, 14 April (1pm) 40 minutes • Free but ticketed Adam House AGES 10+
CARBON CAPTURE. WHO CARES? WE CARE! How can we help our environment? Carbon capture and storage at Longannet Power Station is explained by local school pupils. 9, 12-16 April (11am) • 1 hour Free but ticketed • Adam House
AGES 10+
GAME ON – THE SCIENCE OF SPORT Glasgow Science Centre reveal the effects of sport and exercise on the body. Investigate what it takes to be a top athlete in this exciting interactive show.
Helen Keen loves space rockets. She brings their story to life with a fusion of stand-up comedy and tinfoil in her acclaimed whistle-stop tour around the Great Brains who put ladies and dogs into orbit. 9-10 April (4.30pm) • 1 hour £4.50 concession, £5.50 adult Adam House
AGES 13+
DR BUNHEAD’S NATURAL DISASTER SHOW Explore nature’s mightiest and strangest science experiments, and discover what happens when they go wrong. Featuring volcanoes, tornadoes and glow-in-the-dark sausages. Bring your own umbrella! 8 April (2pm, 3.30pm) 30 minute taster shows £3 child, £2 adult Adam House AGES 7+ 10, 11, 17 April (11am) • 1 hour £5.50 child, £4.50 adult George Square Theatre
AGES 7+
12, 14 April (3.30pm), 13, 15 April (1pm) 40 minutes • £4.50 concession, £3.50 adult Adam House AGES 7+ Supported by:
Download a day-by-day guide at: www.sciencefestival.co.uk
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AROUND THE CITY From 3 to 17 April, the Science Festival will be taking place across Edinburgh and beyond. From the city centre to the seaside, you’ll find big days out, little surprises and special events for all ages.
INSPACE – UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH Continue your discovery of science at Inspace, the new University of Edinburgh gallery that explores the cultural significance of informatics research and new media practice. This season we ask: Are Friends Electric? www.inspace.ed.ac.uk
HUXLEY’S LAB It’s night time in the lab. In a room full of incubators, ‘perfect’ babies grow. In an age where genetic perfection is held up as the quintessential path to a happy, fulfilled life, is there space for difference in our society? Are we sleep-walking into a new age of eugenics? Directed by Ben Harrison and Maria Oller, scripted by Ben Harrison, and devised by Grid Iron and Lung Ha’s Theatre Company in association with the Festival Theatre. 1 April (8pm), 2 April (12.30pm), 3 April (8pm), 5-8 April (8pm) • 1 hour 30 mins • £15/£10/£7.50/£5 available from Edinburgh Festival Theatre box office 0131 529 6000 AGES 12+
THE ROAD TO ROBOCUP What does it take to get a robot to ‘Bend it like Beckham’? Will we ever pit the ‘human’ World Cup winners against the ‘android’ Champions League winners? Dr Sethu Vijayakumar and colleagues explore the key challenges in creating an ‘Android FC’. See the robots in action, go behind the scenes, pick a winner and go crazy for your team! 3 April (1pm, 4pm, 7pm) and 4 April (4pm, 7pm) 1 hour • £6/£4 AGES 10+ Organised by: School of Informatics and Inspace Supported by:
FEVER PITCH
HACK TO THE FUTURE MadLab isn’t only for kids... Solder your own Theramin, Dazzler or Bleep-o-Tron, demonstrate your skills or talk informally about your project. Feeling really adventurous? Make your own kinetic sculpture. It has nothing to do with breaking into computers – one of the magical things about hackerspaces is that they aren’t clearly defined, and explaining them is almost impossible without setting foot in one. So, join the MadLab HackLab team for an event you can shape yourself by creating things and learning new skills. For fans of Make Magazine, this is the event for you. For more information about Hackerspaces, visit www.sciencefestival.co.uk 10-11 April (10am-10pm) • 4 hours Workshop and materials by donation
THE UNCANNY VALLEY When is a smile not a smile? Things that are nearly, but not quite, like us are somehow ‘uncanny’. These days, robots have human-like heads and faces, and humanoid bodies. But as soon as they raise an eyebrow or try to crack a smile, we can tell they’re not the real thing. Professor Dave Perrett and Dr Sethu Vijayakumar explore our fantastic skill at reading other people’s faces and imitating human emotion – and why it makes the roboticist’s job much harder. 16 April, (6.30pm) • 1 hour 30 mins £6/£4 Organised by: School of Informatics and Inspace
INFORMATICS FORUM BREAD, BOOZE & BIOREMEDIATION: THE FUTURE IS YEAST Without yeast, the world would be a hungrier, dirtier (and more sober) place. Join The One Show’s science expert, Marty Jopson, to discover how one of the world’s smallest living organisms benefits mankind. Make bread and moonshine (free tasting session included!), and find out how to create fuel for the car.
Supported by:
9 April (6.30pm) • 1 hour 30 mins • £6/£4 AGES 18+ Organised by: Edinburgh NeuroScience and Inspace Supported by:
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AGES 12+
Supported by:
16 April (4pm), 17 April (7pm) • £7/£5
Could robots ever share the agony and the ecstasy of supporting a sports team? Professor Jon Oberlander explores how machines can detect human emotions. Join our team for some painless experiments – to reveal who’s real, and who’s just a replicant.
AGES 7+
Online booking: www.sciencefestival.co.uk Booking hotline: 0131 553 0322
AGES 16+
FILMHOUSE The Science Festival has teamed up with Filmhouse to present a series of sciencethemed films. Look out for our exhibition in the Filmhouse Café Bar, too. Tickets for all Filmhouse events are only available from Filmhouse. For more information, please call 0131 228 2688 or visit www.filmhousecinema.com.
BLAST Astrophysics Indiana Jones style! Follow a team of scientists in an adventure from Arctic Sweden to Inuit polar bear country in Canada as they discover how all the galaxies formed by launching a revolutionary new telescope under a NASA highaltitude balloon. Our understanding of the evolution and origins of our Universe is at stake on this exciting escapade that seeks to answer humankind’s most basic question: ‘How did we get here?’ Introduction and Q&A with Professor Donald Wayne Kurtz, Centre for Astrophysics, University of Central Lancashire. 13 April (6pm) • £6.50/£4.90 • Film
400 YEARS OF THE TELESCOPE
WAVES… BBC Preview screening Why are waves so fascinating to watch? Why do human beings sit for hours and watch waves crash against a sea wall and shoot water into the air? Presenter David Malone talks to leading mathematicians, scientists and philosophers about the deep secrets of waves. Is it simply because waves are beautiful and scientifically fascinating, or is it because waves hint at and connect to profound truths beyond themselves? Maybe they hold the secrets of the Universe itself. Introduction and Q&A with producer/presenter David Malone. 10 April (4pm) • £4.90/£3.30
EQUATIONS BBC Preview screening Matt Collings, artist and writer, explores the most important equations in science, including Einstein’s E=mc2, Paul Dirac’s equation on anti-matter, and Newton’s law of gravity. Matt discovers that simplicity, elegance and symmetry are often the key to successful equations. He meets cosmologist Stephen Hawking, looks up at the stars at a Cambridge observatory, and observes a particle of anti-matter for the first time. Introduction and Q&A with producer David Briggs. 11 April (4pm) • £4.90/£3.30
SEVEN WONDERS OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM Watch a special screening of this spell-binding series and listen to Professor Brian Cox as he describes how the laws of nature, freed from earth-bound constraints, carve spectacular sights throughout the Solar System. Among his chosen seven wonders are fountains of ice that erupt thousands of kilometres into space, and mysterious lakes filled with a liquid unlike anything on our home planet. Introduction and Q&A with presenter Brian Cox. 12 April (8.30pm) • £6.50/£4.90
A visually stunning history of the telescope from the time of Galileo. Discover its profound impact on astronomy, and how it has shaped the way we view ourselves in the midst of an infinite universe. Hear interviews from leading astronomers and cosmologists from around the world as the team journeys across five continents to tell the story (past and future) of telescopes, astronomy and our everchanging perception of the cosmos. (Dir. Kris Koenig). Introduction and Q&A with Professor Donald Wayne Kurtz, Centre for Astrophysics, University of Central Lancashire. 14 April (6pm) • £6.50/£4.90 • Film
JOURNEY TO THE EDGE OF THE UNIVERSE A non-stop journey from Earth to infinity. On this awe-inspiring and unique voyage, you’ll encounter the most beautiful, powerful and mysterious phenomena in the cosmos, from pulsars to supermassive black holes, and from star nurseries to quasars. You will be taken to the very edge of time in a scientific and visual HD extravaganza that maps the Universe itself. The most stunning cosmology film ever made. (Dir. Yavar Abbas). Introduction and Q&A with Professor Donald Wayne Kurtz, Centre for Astrophysics, University of Central Lancashire. 15 April (6pm) • £6.50/£4.90 • Film
NATIONAL MUSEUMS SCOTLAND 3-17 April, 10am-5pm • Free
CONNECT GALLERY Visit our hands-on science gallery to meet Dolly the sheep, design a robot, test drive a Formula One racing car, power up a generator, or blast off into outer space – all from the comfort of the Museum!
TREASURED: WONDERFUL THINGS, AMAZING STORIES Celebrate the world-class collections destined for the new Royal Museum Project galleries in 2011. From inventions that changed the world, to a Martian meteorite and a Sumatran tiger.
Download a day-by-day guide at: www.sciencefestival.co.uk
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INSPIRING CITY, INSPIRING PEOPLE
SCIENCE SECRETS How can shells tell us about climate change? What clues are hidden in rocks and fossils? How can you send a message using bulbs and buzzers and how does Morse code work? Museum scientists and curators reveal some of the science secrets behind their work. A different theme every day will help you discover more about science behind the scenes. 12-16 April (from 2pm) • 20 minutes
AGES 7+
NATIONAL MUSEUMS COLLECTION CENTRE An exclusive chance to see behind the scenes at the National Museums Scotland Collections Centre at Granton, where many of the Museum’s amazing objects and specimens are stored and conserved. Guided tours led by curators and collections experts.
SPINSIGHT LTD Alex McAndrew and Ian Hope founded Spinsight in 2008. Their sports analytics technology can automatically measure an athlete’s performance in real-time and generate live data and graphics. Spinsight’s sports solutions can enable a host of game-changing coaching tools and media products such as live 3D recreations of matches. City Centre, Edinburgh www.spinsight.co.uk
Free• Places limited • Visit www.nms.co.uk for dates & times and how to book
NATIONAL MUSEUM OF FLIGHT 3-5 April • Free with museum admission (adult £8.50, concessions £6.50, children 12 and under free)
SCIENCE FESTIVAL SINGLES AGES 5+
FRAGILE FLIGHT EGGCRAFT EXTRAVAGANZA
For all 21st century single men and women in Edinburgh struggling to find a partner, the Science Festival is here to help! Explore the seven floors of the City Art Centre. Magic potion provided. 15 April (8pm) • 2 hours £10/£8 (includes glass of wine)
AGES 18+
Have you got what it takes to be an aircraft designer? Build the egg carrier which our catapult can fling the furthest, but make sure that the yoke is not on you!
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS VICTORIA MORTON
11.30am, 2pm • Drop in
A rare opportunity to see entirely new paintings by the acclaimed Scottish artist Victoria Morton. Made to be shown in Inverleith House, it is Morton’s first solo exhibition in Scotland since 2002. Supported by The Scottish Arts Council (New Work Fund).
FRAGILE FLIGHT TRAIL Can you find the features that made our fastest fighters fit for fragile flyers? 10am-5pm • Drop in
CITY ART CENTRE WITHOUT THE KIDS Every year, we are asked if we will open our family venue for an evening for adults only who either want to leave the kids at home, or don’t have any. This is an opportunity for the adventurous to join us for a glass of wine. Prepare to have some fun and rediscover your youth. 8 April (8pm) • 2 hours £10/£8 (includes glass of wine)
AGES 18+
6 March-25 April (closed Mondays), (10am-5.30pm) • Free Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Inverleith House
AGES 14+
THE LAB Take up our podcast challenge – work as a group and make, record and build a short podcast for the new BBC Learning podcasting club. You will learn about interview techniques and try them out at the City Art Centre. You’ll also get a chance to try scripting and some editing. Go on, get creative! 6-7 April (10am-2pm) • Free (booking required) Military Tattoo Office AGES 8+
Download a day-by-day guide at: www.sciencefestival.co.uk
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AROUND THE CITY SECRET SCIENCE MISSION
SOCK THE SCIENTIST
Science is fun at Camera Obscura and World of Illusions! What is it like to pick a person up in your hand or see the city from inside a giant camera? Can you freeze your shadow? How does it feel to walk through the stars or on water? Fantastic hands-on fun for the whole family. 3-17 April (9.30am-6pm) Included with admission (adults £8.95, children 5-15yrs £6.10, concessions £7.15) 10% discount with this programme Camera Obscura and World of Illusions
AGES 5+
JAMES FERGUSON: SCOTTISH ASTRONOMER AND INVENTOR Explore the mind of an 18th century astronomer through his notebooks, drawings and instruments in this fascinating display. 3-17 April (Mon-Fri 10am-8pm, Sat 10am-5pm, Sun 2pm-5pm) • Free National Library of Scotland AGES 5+
(Hosted by Dr Bunhead) Do aliens exist? Is kissing contagious? Can you harness the power of farts? Find out everything you ever wanted to know about science but were afraid to ask. Dr Bunhead (from Brainiac) hosts this new live science quiz show where two teams of scientists battle it out to answer your quirky questions and win your vote. Find out which team wins the Golden Goggles and which team gets socked! Featuring random props, daft prizes and best question awards. From volcanoes to vampires, health scares to horoscopes, and global warming to gadgets, no question is too difficult or daft to tackle. And, with different hot topics every time, no two shows are ever the same. Bring your pals, bring your questions – we’ll bring the socks!
EARTH AND SPACE Do you lie in bed at night and wonder about infinity and the end of the world? Ask your questions about aliens, astronomy, time travel, black holes and saving the planet. 9 April (4pm) • £4 Informatics Forum
A HIDDEN EDINBURGH
BODY, HEALTH AND WELLNESS
Experience the dark and hidden world of Ian Rankin’s best-selling Rebus novels. Locations visited include St Leonards Police Station, the Old Medical School and George Square, with stunning views of some of Edinburgh’s unexplored areas. Humorous and stimulating.
10 April (4pm) • £4 Informatics Forum
3, 10, 17 April (12 noon) • 2 hours (walking tour) £10 (book through the Science Festival or at venue) The Royal Oak AGES 15+
THE BODY POLITIC Discover the history and mystery of the real locations from Ian Rankin’s best-selling Rebus novels. Locations visited include the City Mortuary and Canongait Cemetery, with stories about geologist James Hutton and economist Adam Smith. Amusing and provocative. 3, 10, 17 April (3pm) • 2 hours (walking tour) £10 (book through the Science Festival or at venue) The Royal Oak AGES 15+
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AGES 13+
Here’s your chance to quiz the experts on surgery, diet, love, psychology, illness (especially embarrassing ones!), health scares, epidemics, vampires, zombies and the paranormal.
TECHNOLOGY Is there anything you’d like to know about the following subjects but were afraid to ask? Gaming, robotics, the internet, telepresence, alternative realities, CGI, animation, computer art, mobile phones, iPods and other gadgets, social networking and hackerspaces? Now is your chance! 11 April (4pm) • £4 Informatics Forum AGES 13+
Online booking: www.sciencefestival.co.uk Booking hotline: 0131 553 0322
AGES 13+
THE SAVE THE PLANET SHOW The planet needs your help! Join Professor Egghead’s team of eggsperts to solve the mystery of what’s gone wrong and how you can stop disaster striking in the future! 3-17 April (2pm) • 1 hour Included with admission price to Discovery Centre (adult £7.95, child (aged 4-15) £4.50, concession £5.95) Scottish Seabird Centre AGES 4+
WHERE TOMORROW BEGINS: REFLECTIONS OF SCOTTISH INNOVATION Surprising, arresting and often beautiful images which point us to the future in ways words cannot. Focusing on the work of Scotland’s universities, this exhibition of 20 images will give you a glimpse of how the things we are discovering today will change our tomorrow. 3-17 April (10am-6pm) • Free St James Shopping Centre
ALL AGES
INTERACTIVE TRAVELLING ROCK POOL
MEET THE MATHEMATICIANS
A slice of Deep Sea World comes to Princes Mall. Get up close to hermit crabs, sea anemones, shellfish and even shark egg cases.
International Centre for Mathematical Sciences Mathematics is fundamental to many aspects of modern life, and mathematicians are highly sought after by employers. This event is for students in years S5-S6 who are interested in studying mathematics or a related subject at university. At it you will meet leading researchers and current students, and learn about some of the many applications of mathematics, as well as career opportunities.
7, 14 April • Free • Princes Mall
AGES 3+
TWILIGHT TOURS Meet the creatures of the deep at night. Spot sleepy sharks and hunting lobsters. See the difference when the lights go out! Please note, due to the tour being conducted in the dark, and for the safety of all visitors, children in buggies will not be permitted. All children must be accompanied by an adult. 5 April (6pm, 7pm), 7 April (5pm, 7pm), 14 April (5pm, 7pm) • Included with admission (adult £12, child (aged 3-14) £8.25, concession £10.25) Deep Sea World AGES 3+
SUPER VOLCANOS! Encounter the power beneath your feet! A Super Volcano eruption could be the greatest cataclysm the world will ever see and we are long overdue. What will be your fate? Will your lungs be turned to cement? Will you be crushed by ash? Will you be able to dodge the molten rock rain and outrun a lava flow? Play our interactive voting game and find out before erupting your own volcano! 5-17 April (11am, 12.30pm, 2pm, 3.30pm) 30 minutes • Included with admission Our Dynamic Earth
AGES 3+
7 April (10am-4pm) • Free but ticketed Pre-booking is essential, register at www.meetmaths.org.uk for more details Royal Society of Edinburgh AGES 16-18
BIG TELESCOPES FOR BIG QUESTIONS The Royal Observatory Edinburgh is helping design some of the world’s largest ground-based and space telescopes, including the Extremely Large Telescope and the James Webb Space Telescope. Come along to these family workshops to discover the enormous challenges posed by these giant instruments, and the big questions astronomers hope they will answer. Enjoy a short talk followed by fun hands-on activities. 8, 15 April (3pm) • 1 hour 30 mins £5/£4 for accompanying adults Royal Observatory Edinburgh
AGES 8+
SCIENCE FESTIVAL CHURCH SERVICE
DARE PROTOPLAY Play the awesome BAFTA-winning and nominated video games brought to you by Abertay University’s international Dare to be Digital competition for talented student games developers. If you’re a budding games designer, see our Video Game Studio event in the Highlights section (page 4).
Join us at St Giles’ Cathedral for the annual Science Festival church service. 11 April (11.30am)
ALL AGES
10, 11 April (10am-5.30pm) • Free • Drop in St James Shopping Centre AGES 5+
Presented by: Download a day-by-day guide at: www.sciencefestival.co.uk
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AROUND THE CITY THE MAN WHO DISCOVERED TIME In the 18th century, James Hutton – farmer, scientist and member of the Scottish Enlightenment – used the rocks of Scotland as evidence for his ‘theory of the Earth’. This walk will take about two hours, starting in the High Street and taking a circular walk around Salisbury Crags, including ‘Hutton’s Section’, to see some of the rocks he described.
THE NATURALNESS OF RELIGION AND UNNATURALNESS OF THEOLOGY Lecture by Dr Justin Barrett (Cognitive Psychology, University of Oxford) as part of the 13th European Conference on Science and Religion. 8 April (8pm) • 1 hour 45 mins • Free South Hall, Pollock Halls complex AGES 16+ Organised by: European Society for the Study of Science and Theology (ESSSAT) and Science and Religion Forum
3, 6, 8 April (2pm) • 2 hours • adult £10, concessions £8, under-16s £4 • Pre-booking essential, meeting point specified on ticket AGES 11+ Organised by: Geowalks
DO WE NEED TO NATURALISE RELIGION?
EXPLORING NORTH BERWICK’S ROCKS
10 April (11am) • 2 hours • Free South Hall, Pollock Halls complex AGES 16+ Organised by: European Society for the Study of Science and Theology (ESSSAT) and Science and Religion Forum
The rocks of North Berwick tell us about a dramatic episode in Scotland’s history, when East Lothian was rocked by volcanic eruptions that buried the land under lava and ash, while beneath the surface magma oozed into underground chambers and cracks. This short walk along the beach explores the remains of North Berwick’s volcanoes.
Lecture by Professor Lluis Oviedo (Theological Anthropology, Antonianum University, Rome) as part of the 13th European Conference on Science and Religion.
THE HEART OF THE GREAT ALONE This exhibition of remarkable photographs, taken in Antarctica by Herbert George Ponting and Frank Hurley, marks the 100th anniversary of Captain Scott’s ill-fated journey to the South Pole.
5, 7, 9 April (2pm) • 2 hours • adult £10, concessions £8, under-16s £4 • Pre-booking essential, meeting point specified on ticket AGES 7+ Organised by: Geowalks
DID MATHEMATICS REALLY BLOW UP WALL STREET? International Centre for Mathematical Sciences Paul Embrechts is Professor of Mathematics at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich and, not surprisingly for a Swiss-based mathematician, is an expert in financial risk management. In this talk, Professor Embrechts will review what went wrong, why it went wrong and how, by finance and mathematicians working more closely, another credit crisis can be avoided in the future. 8 April (11.30am) • 1 hour • Free George Square Theatre
ALL AGES
The Royal Collection © 2009 Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
Until 11 April The Queen’s Gallery, Palace of Holyroodhouse www.royalcollection.org.uk 0131 556 5100
THE SNOW BASE: TRIPTYCH Our Creative Landscape is an accessible performance venue offering the audience an experience of science at its most poetic. The theatre, assembly hall, surrounding corridors and dance studios showcase a triptych of dreamlike, experimental devised pieces exploring genetics, bio-politics and the human body. 9-13 April Part I: Our Creative Landscape installations and Snow Café (all day, free) Performances: Part II: Le Corps Perdu (3.30pm. £5/£4) Part III: Drift: Photo 51 (5.30pm, £5/£4) The Edinburgh Academy AGES 14+ Organised by: Curious Directive, conceived and directed by Jack Lowe
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Online booking: www.sciencefestival.co.uk Booking hotline: 0131 553 0322
BIG IDEAS Big Ideas, Edinburgh International Science Festival’s programme of debate and discussion, is bigger and better than ever. Join us for the fantastic, the controversial and the entertaining with international guests, world thinkers and award-winning writers in some of Edinburgh’s most inspirational venues.
INFORMATICS FORUM The University of Edinburgh’s Informatics Forum provides the central hub for Big Ideas events. Make the most of your visit by arriving in time to enjoy a drink in our licensed café and browse our bookshop (presented by Blackwells). Big Ideas ticket offer! Buy 4 tickets to events in the Big Ideas programme and receive a 5th ticket free. (Cheapest ticket free. Only valid for five separate events. Must be booked in advance and by phone on 0131 553 0322.)
TUESDAY 6 APRIL HOW WE LIVE AND WHY WE DIE: THE SECRET LIVES OF CELLS How do we move, think and remember? Why do we get ill, age and die? Learn how cells provide the answers to the fundamental questions about our lives. Development bioligist, author and broadcaster Lewis Wolpert examines the science behind topics that are much discussed but rarely understood – stem-cell research, cloning, DNA – and explains how all life evolved from just one cell.
This year, we’ve teamed up with Poetry Library Scotland. As well as presenting an event on 6 April, they’ll also be choosing poems to complement many of the events in the Big Ideas programme. For full details, please visit www.sciencefestival.co.uk
6pm • 1 hour • £7/£5 • Informatics Forum Organised by: Faber and Faber
MONDAY 5 APRIL THE MIND IS SOMEWHERE NORTH OF THE NECK
Poets have long been stargazers, moved by the strange infinities of the Universe to translate them into metaphor and song. But what do they know of the science of astronomy? And what do astronomers know of poetry? Eminent cosmologist Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell and astronomer Paul Murdin read from leading international poets who have created new work inspired by their discussions with space scientists.
There is a gap between what scientists know about the brain and the view that we draw from newspapers, popular press and television. This hiatus makes cocktail party conversations taxing for a brain scientist. Professor of Human Cognitive Neuroscience Sergio Della Sala takes us through a number of misconceptions about brain mechanisms, such as the idea that computer games can prevent brain ageing, which are taken for granted even by well-read, educated people. 6pm • 1 hour • £7/£5 • Informatics Forum
SECRETS OF THE UNIVERSE Discoveries in astronomy challenge our fundamental ideas about the Universe. From quasars to supermassive black holes, thousands of individual discoveries have shown that the Universe is not what it seemed. Renowned astronomer Paul Murdin provides an exciting overview of astronomy for newcomers and aficionados alike, and highlights the most important discoveries and the people who made them. 8pm • 1 hour • £7/£5 • Informatics Forum Organised by: Thames and Hudson
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DARK MATTER: POEMS OF SPACE
7.30pm • 1 hour • £8/£6 • Scottish Poetry Library
ANTIMATTER Explore a strange mirror world, where particles have identical yet opposite properties to those we encounter everyday. Particle physicist Professor Frank Close tells of a world where left becomes right, positive becomes negative, and where, should matter and antimatter meet, the two annihilate each other in a blinding flash of energy that makes thermonuclear explosions look feeble by comparison. 8pm • 1 hour • £7/£5 •Informatics Forum Organised by: Oxford University Press
Online booking: www.sciencefestival.co.uk Booking hotline: 0131 553 0322
INSPIRING CITY, INSPIRING PEOPLE
WEDNESDAY 7 APRIL THE JOURNEY OF LEGO AND INTO THE FUTURE LEGO has played an integral role in so many people’s young lives. These important early years have so often shaped future interest in technology, building, engineering, mechanics and above all creativity. Steven Canvin from LEGO (Denmark) will explore LEGO’s history and describe its journey from humble blocks, through Wii Star Wars LEGO to future Robotics and MINDSTORMS. 6pm • 1 hour • £7/£5 Informatics Forum
YOUNG ADULTS
Supported by:
MIND, MOUSE AND BODY: DESIGNING ENGAGING TECHNOLOGIES When we mix with others, we enjoy getting physical! But to create engaging technologies we need to consider other qualities. Join Professor Kristina Höök from Stockholm University as she discusses the challenges in recent projects, such as eMoto (mobile emotional messaging using gesture), Affective Diary (a way to remember your bodily and social experiences), and Affective Health (a mobile service empowering users to deal with stress). 8pm • 1 hour • £6/£4 • Informatics Forum Organised by: British Computer Society
THURSDAY 8 APRIL VAMPIRE JUICE OR THE REAL THING? – HOLLYWOOD VERSUS HOLYROOD IN THE SEARCH FOR A BLOOD SUBSTITUTE From V juice in True Blood to Ethan Hawke in Daybreakers, new Hollywood movies dream of a world where vampires co-exist peacefully with people. The trick – making artificial blood. In the real world, medicine is also seeking the same thing. Find out as Professor Chris Cooper discusses the most recent advances. 6pm • 1 hour • £7/£5 • Informatics Forum Supported by:
TRACKING INFECTION IN THE 21STCENTURY The spread of infection and disease has been followed for centuries, from foot and mouth to the latest flu pandemic. But in the world of the internet where events are followed as they unfold, Professor John Edmunds, organiser of the UK flu survey programme, explains how scientists are using this same technology to track and predict infection around the globe in real-time.
BigDNA BigDNA use bacteriophages (bacterial viruses) as the basis for their novel vaccine technology. This approach offers the potential for rapid discovery, development and manufacture of new vaccines – millions of doses can be created in a matter of weeks following the emergence of a new influenza virus, for example. The company’s lead product against hepatitis B is due to enter the clinic in 2011, and they recently won Nexxus’ Most Promising Young Life Science Company of the Year Award (East). Roslin, Midlothian www.bigdna.com
FRIDAY 9 APRIL THE BIG SQUEEZE – PUTTING MATERIALS UNDER PRESSURE Can we really make diamonds from peanut butter? Can we recreate, right here in Edinburgh, the conditions at the centre of the Earth or on the surface of Jupiter? How can we use high pressures to make our foods safer to eat? Chemists Professor Colin Pulham and Dr Jenny Rodgers take you on a voyage to explore the weird and wonderful world of high pressure! 6pm • 1 hour • £6/£4 • Informatics Forum Organised by: University of Edinburgh School of Chemistry and Centre for Science at Extreme Conditions
ANIMAL WELFARE AND THE FUTURE OF FOOD AND FARMING The welfare of animals reared for food on farms within the UK is thought to be amongst the best in the world. But could it be even better? What responsibilities does society have to provide a duty of care towards farm animals? A distinguished panel of experts from a variety of backgrounds will field questions from the audience on these and many other issues relating to animal welfare. 7.30pm • 1 hour 30 mins • £6/£4 Budongo Lecture Theatre, Edinburgh Zoo Organised by: Scottish Agricultural College
8pm • 1 hour • £6/£4 • Informatics Forum Supported by: British Society for Immunology Download a day-by-day guide at: www.sciencefestival.co.uk
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BIG IDEAS THE STATE OF THE WHALE In barely more than a generation, we have moved from whale hunting to whale watching. In the process, our changing attitudes to these extraordinary animals, from feared monster to natural spectacle, reflect greater changes in the way we see our world. Here, historian Philip Hoare reflects upon our perennial fascination with the whale. 8pm • 1 hour • £7/£5 • Informatics Forum
SATURDAY 10 APRIL TEN THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOUR PERSONALITY… AND MINE What makes you the person that you are? What are the traits by which people differ, how do they come about, and why do they matter? Find out how your brain shaped your personality, what your parents did to it, if you are stuck with it, how it can go wonky, and whether it could kill you! Psychologist Professor Ian Deary tells you about modern discoveries in personality research. 2pm • 1 hour • £7/£5 • Informatics Forum
ANIMAL INTELLIGENCE: KNOWING OTHER MINDS From bees to primates and all points in between: how intelligent are the animals around us? How much can we ever truly understand the mental world of animals? To what extent do the mental capabilities of animals dictate our moral responsibility towards them? Professor Aubrey Manning will chair a discussion with three animal behaviour experts on these issues and more. 2pm • 1 hour • £6/£4 Budongo Lecture Theatre, Edinburgh Zoo Organised by: Scottish Agricultural College
THE MAGIC OF MOLECULAR MACHINES Molecular motors and machines lie at the heart of every significant biological process. Over billions of years of evolution, nature has repeatedly chosen this solution with good reason. Professor David Leigh combines the wonders of magic with the wonders of nature to describe the technological potential of molecular machines.
THE WOMAN WHO THOUGHT TOO MUCH Poet Joanne Limburg gives an intensely honest, riveting and surprisingly witty memoir of one woman’s life as a sufferer of obsessive compulsive disorder. 4.30pm • 1 hour • £7/£5 • Informatics Forum Organised by: Atlantic Books
ROCK GUITAR IN 11 DIMENSIONS What causes the revolutionary, historychanging sound of rock guitar, and how does it help us to understand the nature of the stuff we’re made of? Famelab winner and guitar physicist Mark Lewney explains the physics of rock as he plays riffs from Vivaldi to AC/DC and shows how string vibrations might lie at the heart of the ‘Big Questions’ about the Universe. 6pm • 1 hour • £7/£5 Informatics Forum
THE UNIVERSE IN A GLASS – THE SCIENCE OF COCKTAILS Do you ever find yourself in a bar, feeling lonely, and pondering the mysteries of fate while staring into a glass of something cold and alcoholic? Things will never be the same again. Mark Miodownik and Andrea Sella – an engineer and a chemist – will take you on a tour to plumb the depths of your drinks and your cocktails and show you how they can shed light on climate change, astronomy, the Second Law of Thermodynamics, and even your inner child. 7.30pm • 1 hour • £10/£8 • Informatics Forum
MY TOP 5 BONKERS THINGS ABOUT THE UNIVERSE Author and cosmology consultant of the New Scientist, Marcus Chown, dips into his two recent books, Afterglow of Creation and We Need to Talk About Kelvin, to decode the messages from the beginning of time, carried to us in the hot ‘afterglow’ of the big bang fireball, and reveal what everyday things tell us about the Universe. 8pm • 1 hour • £8/£6 • Informatics Forum
4pm • 1 hour • £6/£4 • Informatics Forum Organised by: The Royal Society
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YOUNG ADULTS
Online booking: www.sciencefestival.co.uk Booking hotline: 0131 553 0322
INSPIRING CITY, INSPIRING PEOPLE
SUNDAY 11 APRIL THE HYPNOTIZABLE BRAIN: VERSATILITY & VULNERABILITY Like a Formula One racing car, our brains try to squeeze the maximum performance possible from their ‘technology’. The result for both is spectacular performance, but also the potential for problems. Psychologist Dr Peter Naish will illustrate the spectacular with hypnosis, and describe the flip side of problems such as schizophrenia and post traumatic stress disorder. 2pm • 1 hour • £6/£4 • Informatics Forum
JOURNALISM IN THE DIGITAL AGE: TRENDS, TOOLS & TECHNOLOGIES In a media landscape where everyone can share stories at any time, consumers devour their news on the move or explore their world with gaming applications. Join a panel that includes The Guardian’s Sarah Hartley, the Daily Record’s Iain Hepburn and information architect Martin Belam to discuss the immense and varied challenges and opportunities facing journalists.
PROFESSOR VICKI STONE Vicki started out with a general interest in biomedicine but has built a distinguished career looking at the molecular and cellular aspects of disease, rather than looking at the whole organism. At Edinburgh Napier University, she is responsible for directing research into the toxicology of nanoparticles and air pollutants, concentrating on the mechanism by which they cause adverse health effects in humans and other species. Merchiston, Edinburgh www.napier.ac.uk/nano
4pm • 1 hour • £7/£5 • Informatics Forum Organised by: The Guardian
CARL SAGAN IS MY GOD, OH AND RICHARD FEYNMAN TOO
THE CAFFEINE KICK
Comedian Robin Ince hosts an evening of comedy dedicated to loving science and the rational. Like a sleepy version of his award-winning Nine Lessons and Carols for Godless People – guest comedians will enthuse about quantum physics, evolution and things of wonder. Plus readings from books by great scientists and other brilliant people.
What makes a good cup of coffee? Is it the caffeine buzz? Or the pure pleasures of the finest blend, a perfectly formed frothy head and a sprinkling of chocolate? Join chemist Andrea Sella and engineer Mark Miodownik to discover how chemistry, biology and engineering combine to create the perfect wake-up call, and the surprising effects that caffeine has on the body. 6pm • 1 hour • £7/£5 • Informatics Forum
PSYCHOLOGY OF COMEDY What makes great comedy? Can anyone be a stand-up or do you need ‘funny bones’? Why does a performer storm one night and die the next? Join our expert panel of comedians (including Robin Ince), writers and psychologist Richard Wiseman as they explore what makes people laugh, and discover if the art of comedy is beyond the reach of science. 7pm • 1 hour 30 mins • £10/£8 • The Jam House Bar open from 6.30pm AGES 18+
9pm-late • £10/£8 • The Jam House Bar open from 8.30pm
AGES 18+
WHY DOES E=mc2? What is energy? What is mass? What has the speed of light got to do with them both? TV presenter Brian Cox and Jeff Forshaw embark on an illuminating journey to the frontier of 21st century science to consider the real meaning behind the iconic sequence of symbols that make up Einstein’s most famous equation, E=mc2. 8pm • 1 hour • £8/£6 • Informatics Forum Organised by: Perseus Books
Download a day-by-day guide at: www.sciencefestival.co.uk
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BIG IDEAS MONDAY 12 APRIL HI ENERGY!
SEVEN DEADLY SINS
Join TV science presenters Jim Al-Khalili, Brian Cox and Tara Shears as they travel from the moment the Universe was created, the Big Bang, to the present day, and give us their take on the hidden world of strange particles and forces that make up all we can see. They’ll also give us an insight into how the LHC (the massive particle accelerator at CERN) will help us understand these weird worlds. Along the way, there will be some huge sparks and some other daring demonstrations of the science behind high-energy experiments. 3.30pm • 2 hours • £5/£3 The Jam House
What makes a sinner? Which sin do you indulge in most? Pride, greed, lust, sloth, envy, wrath or gluttony – we’ve all been guilty of at least one at some time. Psychologist Richard Wiseman and neuroscientist Dean Mobbs look at the links between the ways we behave, the type of person we are and how our brain works. An evening of audience participation, surprises and unlikely experiments. 7pm • 2 hours 30 mins (including interval) • £10/£8 The Jam House • Bar open from 6.30pm AGES 18+ Supported by:
YOUNG ADULTS
Supported by:
HUNTING FOR NEW VIRUSES: A VOYAGE INTO THE UNKNOWN Over the past five years, new methods for detecting and analysing viruses have led to a torrent of new discoveries. These have transformed our understanding of their diversity and pervasiveness in nature. Virologist Professor Peter Simmonds and geneticist Professor Paul Sharp describe discoveries that provide tantalising new insights into the origin and complexity of the ‘virosphere’ on Earth and its possible global effects. 6pm • 1 hour • £6/£4 • Informatics Forum Organised by: The University of Edinburgh Centre for Infectious Diseases
CRUELTY
Human beings can be gentle and kind, but there’s a dark side to our nature: cruelty. Neuroscientist Kathleen Taylor describes the beliefs and emotions that can lead normally decent and law-abiding people to commit shocking acts of mutilation and murder. Chaired by the former Bishop of Edinburgh, Richard Holloway.
WHAT DID THE MUSLIMS EVER DO FOR US? THE HIDDEN STORY OF MEDIEVAL ARABIC SCIENCE A thousand years ago, the Islamic Empire was home to some of the greatest scientists in history: Ibn al-Haytham, the greatest medieval physicist, and Al-Biruni, the Persian da Vinci. Join nuclear physicist, author and broadcaster Jim Al-Khalili on a fascinating journey to uncover a forgotten history when the international language of science was Arabic. 7.30pm • 1 hour • £8/£6 • George Square Theatre
TUESDAY 13 APRIL EDINBURGH FIRSTS For centuries, Scotland has given the world numerous lifechanging innovations. Now hear about five current examples of how Edinburgh’s institutions and businesses are leading the world in research and the commercialisation of new technologies. Bionic limbs, wave energy, education software, nanotechnology, combating infectious diseases… Includes a discussion about how Edinburgh stays on top, chaired by Nigel Brown, Vice-Principal of The University of Edinburgh. 6pm • 1 hour 30 mins • £7/£5 • Appleton Tower Organised by: Edinburgh Science Triangle
7.30pm • 1 hour • £7/£5 • Informatics Forum Organised by: Oxford University Press
THE ARUP LECTURE 2010: LISTENING TO DESIGN
GENDER: MORE THAN X VERSUS Y
Can a computer really recreate the sounds you hear at La Scala in Milan? With live demonstrations, Rob Harris, Director of ARUP Acoustics and a world-leading expert in auditorium acoustic design, will explain how ARUP’s auralisation technology can help us improve the designs of concert halls, opera houses and theatres. Join him as he explores this and other fascinating applications of auralisation.
Did you know that we all start off as female in the womb? What makes us end up male and female? Professor Christopher Kelnar and Professor Richard Anderson explore the complex world of gender and find out what happens when the delicate balance of hormones that control our sexual development is disturbed. It’s not as simple as X versus Y… 8pm • 1 hour 30 mins • £6/£4 • Informatics Forum Organised by: Society for Endocrinology
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6pm • 1 hour • £7/£5 • Informatics Forum Organised and supported by:
Online booking: www.sciencefestival.co.uk Booking hotline: 0131 553 0322
MURDER, MYSTERY AND MICROSCOPES Join leading Scottish crime writer, Stuart McBride, as he uses video clips, lively demonstrations and presentations, to debate and share the experiences of practicing forensic experts to help convey our understanding of the science which underpins investigations of serious crime, evocatively conveyed by the author.
EDINBURGH MEDAL: PROFESSOR SIR ALEC JEFFREYS
7.30pm • 2 hours • £7/£5 • Informatics Forum
DESIGNER LIFE – SCOTLAND’S NEXT INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION? ‘Synthetic life’ will develop radically over the next decade, with Scotland at the forefront of this exciting scientific breakthrough. Can it solve the challenges of the modern world and become a great source of wealth for Scotland? Featuring renowned Oxford chemist and synthetic biology expert Professor Ben Davis, plus Rhona Allison, Director of Life Sciences at Scottish Enterprise, and Richard Holloway, former Bishop of Edinburgh, the debate will explore the potential of synthetic life and the ethical questions it raises. 8pm • 1 hour 30 mins • £7/£5 • Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, Symposium Hall Supported by:
WEDNESDAY 14 APRIL A STEM CELL DREAM Can the latest major breakthroughs in stem cell science be used to treat diseases like Parkinson’s Disease? Can we develop safe treatments now? What does science say? Join Professor Sir Ian Wilmut, the creator of Dolly the sheep, and ask scientists Siddharthan Chandran and Tilo Kunath the questions you’ve always wanted answers to, and make up your own mind. 6pm • 1 hour 30 mins • £6/£4 • Informatics Forum Organised by: MRC Centre for Reproductive Medicine
MATHS, MAGIC AND MONEY Focusing on recent events, Gillian Tett, assistant editor of the Financial Times, chairs a panel including sociologist Donald MacKenzie, scientist Tim Johnson and market professional Terri Duhon to discuss whether science has a role in financial innovation. Is finance based on smoke and mirrors, and is appealing to magicians and their crystal balls the best we can do? 8pm • 1 hour • £7/£5 • Informatics Forum Organised by: Heriot-Watt University
The Edinburgh Medal is awarded each year to men and women of Science and Technology whose professional achievements are judged to have made a significant contribution to the understanding and well-being of humanity. In 2010, it is awarded to Sir Alec Jeffreys, a British geneticist who developed techniques for DNA fingerprinting and DNA profiling which are now used all over the world in forensic science to assist police detective work, and resolve paternity and immigration disputes. He is a professor of genetics at the University of Leicester and in 1994 was knighted for Services to Science and Technology. Following a ceremony to present the award, Professor Jeffreys will deliver The Edinburgh Medal address.
GENETIC FINGERPRINTING: A STORY OF SCIENTIFIC SERENDIPITY Techniques for DNA-based identification emerged completely by accident from our research in the 1980s on gene evolution. Professor Jeffreys will discuss the story of DNA fingerprinting and its remarkably rapid transition from an academic curiosity into a technology that has directly affected the lives of many millions of people worldwide. 14 April (6.30pm) • Royal College of Physicians
Supported by:
PREVIOUS RECIPIENTS 1989 Professor Abdus Salam 1990 Professor Stephen J Gould 1991 Professor Jane Goodall 1992 Professor Heinz Wolff 1993 Professor Wangari Maathai 1994 Professor Manuel Pattarroyo 1995 Sir John Crofton 1996 Professor Richard Levins 1997 Professor Amartya Sen 1998 Sir David Attenborough 1999 Professor Jocelyn Bell Burnell
2000 Professor Lynn Margulis 2001 Sir John Sulston 2002 Lise Kingo 2003 Professor Wang Sung 2004 Professor Steven Rose 2005 Professor Colin Blakemore 2006 Professor James Lovelock 2007 Dr Richard Horton 2008 Professor Chris Rapley 2009 Professor Jonathan Beckwith
Download a day-by-day guide at: www.sciencefestival.co.uk
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BIG IDEAS THURSDAY 15 APRIL GOD, SCIENCE AND GLOBAL WARMING What is the role of science in humanity’s response to the ecological crisis? The former co-chair of the Nobel Prize-winning International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), John Houghton, discusses one of the major issues facing us today and what role faith has to play in it. 7pm • 1 hour • £7/£5 • Informatics Forum Organised by: Church of Scotland
From the mathematics of mazes, to cones with a twist, and the amazing sphericon (and how to make one), mathematician and author Ian Stewart is back with more mathematical stories and puzzles that are as quirky as they are fascinating, and each from the cutting edge of the world of mathematics. 6pm • 1 hour • £7/£5 • Informatics Forum Organised by: Oxford University Press
THE NUM8ER MY5TERIES From prime numbers to the lottery, from lemmings to bending balls like Beckham, mathematician and TV presenter Marcus du Sautoy provides an entertaining and perhaps unexpected approach to how mathematics can be used to predict the future. 7.30pm • 1 hour • £8/£6 George Square Theatre
COWS IN THE MAZE AND OTHER MATHEMATICAL EXPLORATIONS
YOUNG ADULTS
MALT WHISKY MASTERCLASS (THEORY) The appreciation of whisky is done as much with the nose as the mouth. Charles MacLean, Master of the Quaich, author of 10 books about whisky and a world authority on the subject, explores the wonders of smell and taste in relation to whisky, and the language used by the whisky industry to describe them. The talk will be supported by samples! 6pm • 1 hour • £8/£6 • Scotch Whisky Experience
FRIDAY 16 APRIL WHAT SHOULD HAPPEN TO YOUR BRAIN AFTER YOU DIE?
MALT WHISKY MASTERCLASS (PRACTICAL)
What should happen to your brain after you die? Should we donate our brains for research after we die? And, if so, what sort of procedures should be put in place to ensure that they are used as we would wish? Join us for an in-depth discussion of these and other questions about brain donation. This will be a deliberative event; your views will help to shape the way brain donation is managed in Scotland. Panellists will include Professor James Ironside, Director of the MRC UK Brain Banks Network.
8pm • 1 hour • £8/£6 • Scotch Whisky Experience
1.30pm • 3 hours • £6/£4 • Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, Playfair Hall Organised by: Gengage, The Scottish Healthcare Genetics Public Engagement Network
POWER OF EXPECTATION EXPERIMENT Psychologist Professor Adrian Furnham and Consultant Psychiatrist Dr Raj Persaud invite you to take part in a unique scientific experiment exploring the power of expectation. The audience will be randomised to view one of two well-known Hollywood blockbuster films, and will answer questions about themselves and their personalities, before and after. The results should give us a fascinating insight into the psychological power of expectation in our lives. It could have dramatic implications. Before you go on a date or attend a job interview – should you manipulate the expectations of your quarry upwards or downwards? 12.30pm • £4.90/£3.30 • Filmhouse
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Following on from the theory, Charles MacLean will host a mentored tasting of a range of malt whiskies to explore more fully aroma and taste, and discuss where they come from in production and maturation.
DIABETES AND TIME TRAVEL If you had a time machine where would you go? Would you go to the future to find a cure for diabetes? Or would you go into the past for a window on history. HG Wells (author of The Time Machine) had diabetes and helped set up Diabetes UK. Find out about how science has helped people with diabetes in the past, and the possibilities for diabetics in the future – including the artificial pancreas or, maybe, a cure? 7.30pm • 1 hour • £7/£5 • Informatics Forum Organised by: Diabetes UK
CLIMATE WARS Dwindling resources. Massive population shifts. Natural disasters. Spreading epidemics. Drought. Rising sea levels. Plummeting agricultural yields. Crashing economies. Political extremism. Just some of the expected consequences of runaway climate change in the decades ahead – and any of them could tip the world towards conflict. Journalist and lecturer in international affairs Gwynne Dyer reveals how world leaders are likely to react. 8pm • 1 hour • £7/£5 • Informatics Forum Organised by: One World Publishers
Online booking: www.sciencefestival.co.uk Booking hotline: 0131 553 0322
SATURDAY 17 APRIL HOW THE EARTH MADE US
THE NEW INTELLIGENCE: WORKING MEMORY
Following on from his appearance in the BBC programme Earth, geologist and TV presenter Iain Stewart talks about his new TV series, which continues the epic story of the relationship between human civilisation and Earth, and explores how geology, geography and climate have influenced – and continue to shape – human history.
Working memory, our ability to remember and manipulate information, is our brain’s post-it note. Dr Tracy Alloway, Director of The Centre for Memory and Learning in the Lifespan, tells us how we are on the cusp of a new scientific revolution in understanding how the brain works and how working memory is at the centre of this revolution. She will illustrate how the brain responds to training and review the best brain training tools for adults and children.
12 noon • 1 hour • £7/£5 • Informatics Forum
MICHAELANGELO’S FINGER
BECAUSE GOD MADE IT THAT WAY
The ability of the human index finger is truly unique in the animal world. Scientist, philosopher and novellist Raymond Tallis shows just how central this seemingly insignificant difference – the ability to point – has been in determining the amazing evolutionary pathway of the human being from the other primates.
The idea that the laws of nature must be beautiful was a religion to the British theoretician Paul Dirac. Graham Farmelo, Senior Research Fellow at the Science Museum and author of the new biography of Dirac, The Strangest Man, looks at this idea, first presented by Dirac in Edinburgh, and how he used it to make one of the great predictions of modern science: the existence of anti-matter. 1.30pm • 1 hour • £6/£4 • Informatics Forum
BLOODHOUND SSC – A VEHICLE TO INSPIRE? The BLOODHOUND project is an engineering adventure for the 21st century – to keep the World Land Speed Record for Britain, to test if a car can go at 1000mph, and to inspire the scientists and engineers of the future. Former Tomorrow’s World presenter and BLOODHOUND Education Ambassador Kate Bellingham brings us up to speed on this ambitious project. 2pm • 1 hour • £7/£5 • Informatics Forum
IN THE PSYCHIATRIST’S CHAIR
Photo © Robin Matthews
Consultant psychiatrist Dr Raj Persaud investigates the brilliant mind of Paul Dirac, the British physicist and a founder of quantum physics, by putting Dirac’s biographer Graham Farmelo on the couch. Was Dirac unusual psychologically and, if so, did this help him? Or is Hollywood’s portrayal of scientists as odd and mad just a case of too much artistic licence?
3.30pm • 1 hour • £8/£6 • Reid Concert Hall
4pm • 1 hour • £7/£5 • Informatics Forum
4.30pm • 1 hour • £6/£4 • Informatics Forum Organised by: Atlantic Books
THE IG NOBEL PRIZES The Ig Nobel Prizes honour achievements that first make people laugh, then make them think. Marc Abrahams founded the ceremony, held annually at Harvard University. He will discuss some of the more spectacular cases (including the medical effects of swordswallowing, the invention of karaoke, why pregnant women don’t tip over, and the courtship behaviour of ostriches towards Englishmen). 6pm • 1 hour • £7/£5 • Informatics Forum
THERE IS GRANDEUR IN THIS VIEW OF LIFE It has become commonplace in some circles to accuse scientific explanations for life and the Universe of being reductionist and bleak, but Charles Darwin was in no doubt that evolution by natural selection was a theory of awe-inspiring wonder and beauty. In this lecture, Richard Dawkins will demonstrate why this is so. 7.30pm • 1 hour • £8/£6 • George Square Theatre
DON’T DREAM IT... DRIVE IT! Jaguar have just launched the new XJ with the slogan ‘Don’t dream it… Drive it!’. So, how do you get from the initial dream to the dream car? Jaguar’s Director of Design, Ian Callum, reflects on his 30 years working with some of the top car brands in the world, and how he has designed the next generation of Jaguar cars. 8pm • 1 hour • £7/£5 • Informatics Forum
Download a day-by-day guide at: www.sciencefestival.co.uk
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VENUES CITY CENTRE
ST ANDREW SQUARE
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JOHN HOPE GATEWAY – ROYAL BOTANIC GARDEN EDINBURGH
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OUR DYNAMIC EARTH
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INFORMATICS – INSPACE
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Other venues
Parking
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DEEP SEA WORLD 13.5 miles
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THE ROYAL OBSERVATORY EDINBURGH 4.5 miles
Waverley Train Station
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EDINBURGH ZOO 3.5 miles
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SCOTTISH SEABIRD CENTRE 25.5 miles
Edinburgh Bus Station
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NATIONAL MUSEUM OF FLIGHT 23 miles
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STEVENSON COLLEGE EDINBURGH 5 miles
Online booking: www.sciencefestival.co.uk Booking hotline: 0131 553 0322
LOTHIANS & FIFE FIFE
SCOTTISH SEABIRD CENTRE
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DEEP SEA WORLD
NORTH N ORTH TH BERWICK
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EDINBURGH
EDINBURGH ZOO
EAST LOTHIAN
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APPLETON TOWER 11 Crichton Street, Edinburgh EH8 9LE
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CAMERA OBSCURA 549 Castlehill, Royal Mile, Edinburgh EH1 2ND
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CITY ART CENTRE 2 Market Street, Edinburgh EH1 1DE 0131 529 3993 DEEP SEA WORLD Forthside Terrace, North Queensferry KY11 1JR 01383 411 880
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INFORMATICS University of Edinburgh, 10 Crichton Street, Edinburgh EH8 9AB
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OUR DYNAMIC EARTH 112 Holyrood Road, Edinburgh EH8 8AS 0131 550 7800
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THE ROYAL OBSERVATORY EDINBURGH Blackford Hill, Edinburgh EH9 3HJ 0131 668 8404
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INFORMATICS – INSPACE University of Edinburgh, 10 Crichton Street, Edinburgh EH8 9AB
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POLLOCK HALLS University of Edinburgh, 18 Holyrood Park Road, Edinburgh EH16 5AY
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ROYAL SOCIETY OF EDINBURGH 22-24 George Street, Edinburgh EH2 2PQ 0131 240 2780
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MILITARY TATTOO OFFICE 32 Market Street, Edinburgh EH1 1QB
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PRINCES MALL 3 Waverley Bridge, Edinburgh EH1 1BQ
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ST ANDREW SQUARE City Centre, Edinburgh EH2 2BD
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THE MOUND City Centre, Edinbugh EH2
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NATIONAL LIBRARY OF SCOTLAND 57 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh EH1 1EW 0131 623 3700
THE QUEEN’S GALLERY Palace Of Holyroodhouse, Abbeyhill, Edinburgh EH8 8DX 0131 556 5100
ST GILES’ CATHEDRAL High Street, Edinburgh EH1 1KE 0131 225 4363
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REID CONCERT HALL Bristo Square, Edinburgh EH8 9AG
ST JAMES SHOPPING CENTRE Leith Street, Edinburgh EH1 3SL
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ROYAL BOTANIC GARDEN EDINBURGH 20a Inverleith Row, Edinburgh EH3 5LR 0131 552 7171
SCOTCH WHISKY EXPERIENCE 354 Castlehill, High Street, Edinburgh EH1 2NE
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ROYAL COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS OF EDINBURGH 9 Queen Street, Edinburgh EH2 1JE
SCOTTISH POETRY LIBRARY 5 Crichton’s Close, Edinburgh EH8 8DT 0131 557 2876
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ROYAL COLLEGE OF SURGEONS OF EDINBURGH 3 Hill Square, Edinburgh EH8 9DW 0131 527 3434
SCOTTISH SEABIRD CENTRE The Harbour, North Berwick EH39 4SS 01620 890 202
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STEVENSON COLLEGE EDINBURGH Bankhead Avenue, Edinburgh EH11 4DE
EDINBURGH ACADEMY 42 Henderson Row, Edinburgh EH3 5BL EDINBURGH ZOO 134 Corstorphine Road, Edinburgh EH12 6TS 0131 314 0326 FILMHOUSE 88 Lothian Road, Edinburgh EH3 9BZ 0131 228 2688 GEORGE SQUARE THEATRE 30 George Square (Buccleuch Place), Edinburgh EH8 9LJ THE JAM HOUSE 5 Queen Street, Edinburgh EH2 1JE
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NATIONAL MUSEUM OF FLIGHT East Fortune Airfield, East Lothian EH39 5LF 0131 247 4238 NATIONAL MUSEUM OF SCOTLAND Chambers Street, Edinburgh EH1 1JF 0131 225 7534 NATIONAL MUSEUM OF SCOTLAND – ADAM HOUSE Chambers Street, Edinburgh EH1 1HR 0131 650 8058
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THE ROYAL OAK 1 Infirmary Street, Edinburgh EH11LT
ACCESS INFORMATION Please contact our Box Office on 0131 553 0322 or visit www.sciencefestival.co.uk for full access information. Edinburgh For information about Edinburgh, how to get around and where to stay visit www.edinburgh-inspiringcapital.com
Explore Edinburgh Have fun exploring science-based visitor attractions in and around Edinburgh. Visit www.explore-edinburgh.com
Festivals Edinburgh Find out what’s happening at the other Edinburgh Festivals throughout the year at www.edinburghfestivals.co.uk
Public Transport Information Edinburgh bus and rail information can be found at www.lothianbuses.com and www.scotrail.co.uk or call Traveline Scotland on 0871 200 2233.
Download a day-by-day guide at: www.sciencefestival.co.uk
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INDEX & INFORMATION INDEX OF SPEAKERS Abrahams, Marc, p35 Al-khalili, Jim, p32 Allison, Rhona, p33 Alloway, Tracy, p35 Anderson, Richard, p32 Barrett, Justin, p26 Belam, Martin, p31 Bellingham, Kate, p35 Briggs, David, p21 Brooker, Rob, p17 Brown, Nigel, p32 Burnell Bell, Jocelyn, p28 Canvin, Steven, p29 Callum, Ian, p35 Chandran, Siddharthan, p33 Chown, Marcus, p11, p30 Close, Frank, p28 Cooper, Chris, p29 Cox, Brian, p21, p31, p32 Daniels, Mike, p17 Davis, Ben, p33 Dawkins, Richard, p35 Deary, Ian, p30 Duhon, Terri, p33 du Sautoy, Marcus, p34 Dyer, Gwynne, p34 Edmunds, John, p29 Embrechts, Paul, p26 Farmelo, Graham, p35 Forshaw, Jeff, p31 Furnham, Adrian, p34
Harris, Rob, p32 Hartley, Sarah, p31 Hawking, Lucy, p11 Hepburn, Iain, p31 Hester, Alison, p17 Hoare, Philip, p30 Holloway, Richard, p33 Houghton, John, p34 Höök, Kristina, p29 Ince, Robin, p31 Ironside, James, p34 Jeffreys, Alec, p33 Johnson, Tim, p33 Jopson, Marty, p11, p20 Kelnar, Christopher, p32 Kunath, Tilo, p33 Kurtz, Donald Wayne, p21 Langan, Simon, p17 Leigh, David, p30 Lewney, Mark, p30 Limburg, Joanne, p30 McBride, Stuart, p33 McHaffie, Heather, p15, p16 McIntyre, David, p15 MacKenzie, Donald, p33 MacLean, Charles, p34 Marton-Lefèvre, Julia, p12 Malone, David, p21 Manning, Aubrey, p30 Minty, Chris, p17 Mill, Robert, p15 Miodownik, Mark, p30, p31
EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL SCIENCE FESTIVAL Edinburgh International Science Festival, founded in 1989, is an educational charity that inspires people of all ages and backgrounds to discover the wonder of the world around them. We are best known for organising Edinburgh’s annual Science Festival – the world’s first celebration of science and technology, and still one of Europe’s largest. Of equal importance, however, is our schools touring programme, Generation Science, which brings science to life in Scottish classrooms throughout the year. Charity Number: SC003790 Registered Office: Suite 1 Mitchell House, 5 Mitchell Street, Edinburgh EH6 7BD SCIENCE FESTIVAL ADVISORY GROUP Jill Fullerton Smith BBC Richard Wiseman The University of Hertfordshire Quentin Cooper BBC Radio 4 Jeremy Webb New Scientist Brian Cox University of Manchester Maggie Aderin Pocock Science Innovation Ltd Hermione Cockburn TV and radio presenter
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Mobbs, Dean, p32 Murdin, Paul, p28 Naish, Peter, p31 Neil, Ken, p17 Oberlander, Jon, p20 Oviedo, Lluis, p26 Padel, Ruth, p12 Pendry, Colin, p17 Perrett, Dave, p20 Persaud, Raj, p34, p35 Pulham, Colin, p29 Ramamoorthy, Subramanian, p20 Reay, Dave, p11 Rodgers, Jenny, p29 Rotheray, Graham, p17 Sala Della, Sergio, p28 Sella, Andrea, p30, p31 Sharp, Paul, p32 Shears, Tara, p32 Simmonds, Peter, p32 Stewart, Ian, p34 Stewart, Iain, p35 Tallis, Raymond, p35 Taylor, Kathleen, p32 Tett, Gillian, p33 Vijayakumar, Sethu, p20 Watson, Mark, p17 Wilmut, Ian, p33 Wiseman, Richard, p31, p32 Wolpert, Lewis, p28 Zuberbuhler, Klaus, p12
STAFF Susie Bass Development Manager Sarah Blackwell Box Office Manager Jane Colton Box Office Assistant Manager Lindsay Coulton Development Co-ordinator Joan Davidson Generation Science Manager Amy Elder Generation Science Production Manager Simon Gage Festival Director Debbie Howard Festival Events Co-ordinator and Venue Manager Pat Hymers Festival Administrator Fiona Logue Business Director Cassie Miller Marketing Co-ordinator Andrew Owens Finance Manager Emma Pirie Marketing Manager Peter Scott Festival Production Manager Mathew Stracy Events Development Manager Zoë Squair Festival Staff Co-ordinator Frances Sutton PR Manager Jen Wood Festival General Manager
Online booking: www.sciencefestival.co.uk Booking hotline: 0131 553 0322
Chair Philip Young
Members Dugdale Bradley Cairn Energy PLC Alex Callander, Baillie Gifford & Co Bryan Donaghey, Diageo Scotland Edina Trust John Hylands Nimar Charitable Trust Professor Andy Porter Mike Rutterford, Rutterford Ltd Scottish Qualifications Authority Barry & Helen Sealey, The BEST Trust SELEX Galileo David Sibbald, Sumerian Networks Ltd Dr Wilson Totten, ProStrakan Group University of Edinburgh Ian Wall
Honorary Members Professor Anne Glover, Chief Scientific Adviser for Scotland Baroness Susan Greenfield
Education Ambassadors Professor Jack Jackson, Strathclyde University Walter Whitelaw, Midlothian Council
We would like to thank Generation Science Club members for their support of the Edinburgh International Science Festival’s schools touring programme. Generation Science Club is a network of individuals and companies dedicated to engaging the next generation in science and technology. Members of the club donate funds to help ensure our school shows and workshops can be enjoyed by all pupils – wherever they are and whatever their financial background. With particular thanks to:
Download a day-by-day guide at: www.sciencefestival.co.uk
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