In conversation: Patience - how the best things in life take time

This event is part of the Royal Society's Summer Science Exhibition 2026.

The concept of time is hard to grasp. From a single minute to a full century, hearts beat, trees bloom and grow - and a human lives a lifetime. In her book Patience, Rachel Williams takes 18 different periods of time - from a single minute; to an hour; to over a century - to show the process of life, looking at biology in all its forms, from plants, animals and human biology too.

In one minute, learn that your heart beats over 100 times. In one day, learn how a dragonfly unfurls a pair of wings. In a season, watch a bear hibernate for winter. In over 80 years, see a human live a lifetime.

Join award-winning children’s author Rachel Williams for this talk to discover how there is a season for everything in this antidote to an instant world.

This event is part of the Trivedi Science Book Prize talks strand at Summer Science Exhibition 2026.

Attending the event

This event will be held in Theatre 1 at the Royal Society on Thursday 2 July 2026, 12pm – 12.30pm.

• Free to attend as part of Summer Science Exhibition on a first-come, first-served basis, subject to seat availability. We recommend that visitors arrive 10-15 minutes before the session
• Eventbrite tickets for Summer Science Exhibition are recommended, with only a limited number of walk-up tickets released on the day
• Suitable for students aged 14+
• This talk will take place in person
• A recording of this talk will be available later on the Royal Society YouTube channel
• Live subtitles will be available
• Travel and accessibility information and details on planning your visit - contact us directly to arrange any specific accessibility requirements
• Food and drink will be available for purchase at our onsite café

For all enquiries, please email us.