Pint of Science - A Science Festival in Pubs

My Dear Sexy Readers,

Today, I am inviting you all to an amazing event called Pint of Science. This is a Science Festival happening across 15 pubs in London, Oxford and Cambridge on the 14th, 15th and 16th of May and it's free - apart from your pint ;).



The concept is simple, you choose you favourite pub from the list, you order your pint or other drink and you listen to an amazing speaker talk about the latest technology or the latest science discovery! The only thing you hope is not to overdo the drinks or else you won't remember the sexy science you learnt ;)

One of the organiser who came up with the idea for this innovative science festival is a friend of mine, Dr Praveen Paul. Here is what she has to say about this unusual pub crawl:

As a neuroscientist I’ve spent most of my career looking at brains and brain cells. In the lab we grow brain cells in a dish and use lots of different methods to study them; but when I tell my friends about it they think I do something really complicated or picture something from a science-fiction movie. Equally, as a basic scientist who researches what goes wrong in brain cells, I am quite removed from the people who may be affected by the condition that I am studying.

Last year, Michael Motskin and I decided to change this perception and bring people who are actually affected by brain disorders to the labs to see what we do with the brains and cells we have. In September 2012 in the Division of Brain Sciences at Imperial College London, we hosted a very successful ‘meet the neuroscientist’ day, with 100 people living with or affected by Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, motor neurone disease  and multiple sclerosis (MS). They saw our labs, we showed them what their condition looks like in a real brain, the techniques we use, and we explained the logic of our experiments.

Personally we found the experience enlightening – as basic scientists we are remote from the people affected by the conditions we are studying, and visitors to the lab were equally enlightened, surprised and pleased that we were working on fighting and understanding these conditions.

We wanted to do a similar thing on a bigger scale with more people and in a friendly atmosphere that would encourage debate. Thus we started Pint of Science, a new science festival that would do just that - in a traditional British setting, the pub!

We started by recruiting 15 teams across London, Oxford and Cambridge and our only instructions were: “find three brilliant and inspiring speakers from your university that you would love to hear a talk from and a nice pub to host them.  Be bold and audacious!”

The festival has events in 15 pubs across London, Cambridge and Oxford on the 14^th, 15^th and 16^th May 2013. The five universities which are involved are: Imperial College London, University College London, King’s College London, University of Oxford and University of Cambridge.  

To offer a variety of talks we chose to focus on three topics: Brain (e.g. neurodegeneration, addiction, sleep and mental health), Body (e.g. genetics, aging, cancer and stem cells) and Biotechnology (e.g. artificial intelligence, biomechanics and computer modelling).

We’ve got some really incredible speakers that I’m really excited to hear! Professor David Nutt, Professor Paul Newman and Professor Chris Lowe are just some of the speakers giving talk in Pint of Science festival.

I am sure you will find a talk that inspires you, something interesting that you’ve always wondered about and would like to chat about with the world experts. This is your chance! Have a look at the website, pick a talk or subject, book a free place and come to the pub to grab an opportunity to ask questions, give your insights and pick those brains over a beer J

Key details:

www.pintofscience.com

Tuesday 14^th May to Thursday 16^th May 2013 (from 7pm)

Locations: pubs in London, Cambridge and Oxford

5 universities, 3 days, 3 topics, over 50 speakers and over 50 volunteers and 1000s of people who will be scientifically enriched!

The event is free but you will require a ticket to get in, see website for details.

Facebook and twitter links can be found on our website.

www.facebook.com/pintofscience   www.twitter.com/pintofscience

You can receive and follow Pint Of Science updates on Twitter at @pintofscience or on Facebook www.facebook/PintOfScience

See you soon for more Sexy Science,