The Royal Society’s Summer Science Exhibition (Photo: The Royal Society)
When: 4th – 9th July 2017
Where: The Royal Society, 6-9 Carlton House Terrace, London SW1Y 5AG
£: Free
What is it?
Hold a beating robotic heart in your hands, immerse yourself in the world of glow-in-the-dark sea creatures, and find out how dinosaurs are helping British police forces fight crime.
This is just some of the intriguing science being showcased at The Royal Society’s Summer Science Exhibition, Tuesday 4th to Sunday 9th July. This year there will be 22 exhibits, offering something for everyone to explore and enjoy the chance to get hands on with cutting-edge technology and quiz the scientists behind them.
Synchronise your heartbeat to a robotic heart, and find out how scientists are using technology to combat heart disease. Make your own ultra-dirt repellent smart surfaces; which could one day be used in hospitals, reducing the need for antibiotics to fight infection.
Explore the connection between nature and science (Photo: The Royal Society)
Visitors, curious about why our voices sound the way they do, will be able to see a real-time MRI scan of a larynx in movement. Visitors will also be able to find out how dinosaurs are helping police forces fight crime and grab a selfie with a T-Rex and a woolly mammoth; and sport enthusiasts can delve into the engineering behind the success of Team GB’s gold-medal haul in cycling, whilst having a go at breaking a world record.
Space fans can experience a pair of HoloLens and dive into virtual reality to explore Mars and design a spacecraft; or meet one of the teams behind a major scientific discovery of 2016, gravitational waves.
Nature lovers will be able to make hooked tools from plant materials and extract plastic grubs and insects from wooden logs, just like brainy birds that use tools made of twigs; and explore the world of glow-in-the-dark corals and sea creatures which are helping to light up human cells for medical imaging.
A special Twilight Summer Science evening will take place on Monday 3rd July (6pm – 10pm). Pick your poison from a selection of themed cocktails, dance the night away on the Turing Dancefloor, and try to work out the difference between an AI playlist vs a human DJ. Discover how 3D printing is revolutionising biomaterials in medicine by heading to the materials tent for a glimpse into the new materials that will shape the future. The Twilight event is for adults-only and entry is free.
Take a closer look at science in the Summer Exhibition (Photo: The Royal Society)
You can also stay late on Tuesday evening to drop some science beats with geek songstress Helen Arney; meet well-known past fellows of The Royal Society as history is brought to life; put your questions to a literature panel with science authors including Gaia Vince, Mark Miodownik, and Lucy Green; or draw out your pencils to sketch artefacts from the Society’s archives in an artist guided workshop.
On Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th July, the Little House of Science will be offering a programme full of science activities for younger children. Older children will be able to learn the skills needed to survive a zombie apocalypse and investigate the science of how superheroes’ superpowers might work. Bookworms can listen to a talk on history’s rebellious scientists by author Dan Green, whose book Rebel Science was shortlisted for the Royal Society Young Person’s book prize in 2016.
More info: royalsociety.org