Science Matters
Oxfordshire Science Week
Holograms, prosthetic limbs, honey bees and onion DNA have one thing in common - they're all part of Oxfordshire Science Week 2008, which runs from 7 - 16 March. The celebrations bring together the University of Oxford, museums, science centres and researchers from around the county for 10 days of events at 11 different venues around Oxfordshire.
The week kicks off on Friday 7 March with a debate entitled 'How would you spend £2 billion to transform British science?' Science broadcaster Sue Nelson joins top level researchers from the University of Oxford, the UK Atomic Energy Authority, the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory and the Campaign for Science and Engineering at the University of Oxford's Department of Physics to discuss what they would fund and how they justify their choices.
On Saturday 8 March is one of the week's largest events, 'Wow! How?' Held at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, this family science fair attracts thousands of visitors to stalls run by volunteers showing off their favourite experiments. If you ever wanted to know how to make slime or what happens to a marshmallow in a vacuum, this is the event for you!
Later in the week, on Thursday 13 March, the festival takes a step into the arts with a play at the Burton Taylor Studio about Robert Hooke, 'England's Leonardo'. Hooke was a natural philosopher whose scientific talents led him to a variety of areas, including attempting to measure the distance to a star and, most famously, coining the word 'cell' to describe the basic unit of life.
The week concludes with a two-day event at Science Oxford on Friday 14 and Saturday 15 March. 'Science in the Kitchen' explores scientific phenomenon using household materials and equipment. Find out how to investigate ink using jelly and batteries, make paint from eggs, or explore the chemistry of polymers using custard powder.
This is just a small selection of the events taking place during the week, and there are several others which run for the whole ten days. A full brochure is available at venues across the County or can be downloaded from www.oxtrust.org.uk/scienceweek. The team behind Oxfordshire Science Week hope you enjoy the celebrations as much as they will!
The Science Matters page is coordinated by Science Oxford, cultural centre for science in St Clements, Oxford. For more information, visit www.scienceoxford.com