Royal Society to take Summer Science Exhibits on tour

The Society’s Summer Science Exhibits on Tour programme will collaborate with three science festivals across the UK in a bid to expand the reach of cutting-edge science outside central London and strengthen relationships with key partners.

A total of 13 exhibits from previous Summer Science Exhibitions will be showcased at Jodrell Bank’s Summer Events programme, the British Science Festival, and Manchester Science Festival.

Cosmologist Carlos Frenk, Fellow of the Royal Society and Chair of the Public Engagement Committee, said: 

“As the oldest science festival in the UK we have presented the best of scientific achievements to the public at our annual Summer Science Exhibition for many years. In fact its history dates back to 1778 when the President of the Society at the time, Joseph Banks, started ‘Conversaziones’ which later became known as Soirées, which continue to the present day.

“For the first time a hand-picked selection of past exhibits will now be journeying across the UK to enable members of the public who are unable to travel to Central London to experience the wonder of cutting-edge science face-to-face. We are very excited about this initiative and hope to build lasting partnerships with key stakeholders in science to enable us to continue this into the future.”

The Royal Society’s Summer Science Exhibits on Tour programme will collaborate with three science festivals across the UK in a bid to expand the reach of cutting-edge science outside central London and strengthen relationships with key partners.

The exhibits that will be touring these festivals are as follows:

Jodrell Bank Summer Events (3 — 4 & 10 — 11 August)

• Decoding the DNA Tree of Life (Wellcome Sanger Institute): By sampling DNA of every single animal, plant, and fungus species in Britain, we could discover new cancer medicines in the DNA of wildflowers
• In Your Element (University of Warwick): Delve into the wondrous world of the periodic table and examine the 19 elements considered essential for humans. Demonstrations will reveal why cornflakes are magnetic and how platinum can be used to cure cancer
• Microbial Puppet Masters (Universities of Salford and Liverpool): Explore how co-habiting bacteriophages contribute to bacterial diseases in the lung
• Revolutionising Rehab (Universities of Loughborough and Nottingham): The National Rehabilitation Centre is looking at innovative technologies that could transform personalised rehabilitation
• Exploring Cancer Landscapes (Cancer Research UK, University of Manchester): Technologies which map the complex landscape of tumours
• Galaxy Makers (University of Durham): How did galaxies emerge from and grow after the Big Bang? Why do they have different shapes and sizes? Supercomputers are helping us to answer these questions

British Science Festival at the University of East London (11 — 15 September)

• A Message from Afar St. Andrews Centre for Exoplanet Science/SETI): Join the debate on whether we should try and communicate with extra-terrestrial civilisations
• BO and Beyond (University of Oxford): Our discoveries have revealed how body odour is linked to an individual’s unique underarm microbiota
• Ocean Travellers (University of Essex): Explore the weird and wonderful ways in which living things move around the ocean
• Gene-ius Fish (QMUL): The team are using gene editing techniques in zebrafish to better understand mental health conditions
• Micro-Robotics for the Eye (KCL): get to grips with cutting-edge robotic surgery tools, adept at delicate eye and body procedure

Manchester Science Festival at the Science and Industry Museum (18 — 27 October)

Further details of the Summer Science Exhibits on Tour at Manchester Science Festival to be released in the near future.