National Science and Engineering Week - Recap

I had a fantastic time during National Science and Engineering Week in Aberdeen. There were far too many events for me to review individually. But I did manage to record some of them and I will link to those as soon as I am able to get them online.

I thought I would do a little re-cap of some of the new things I learnt during the week...

• I got to chat about a topic very close to my heart, with Chris Peters from the fantastic Sense about Science team - empowering everyone to challenge scientific claims by ASKING FOR EVIDENCE at Aberdeen Skeptics in the Pub.

• Lucy Hawking made me remember just how much I love talks, stories and images related to SPACE EXPLORATION, imagination and the understanding of where we came from (there's a great blog post about this event here)

• Once again the importance of evidence based medicine was discussed at CafeMED when speakers shared their current research into finding cures and robust methods of diagnosis for Parkinson's disease

• I finally understood (with the help of a rubber band) why there are Northern Lights, at Cafe Scientifique Inverness . I also learnt that we might not understand as much as we do about the Northern Lights if it wasn't for the Norweigan scientist Kristian Birkeland who developed a method of fixing nitrogen from air for fertiliser production and used the money from that to carry out his research into the Northern Lights (there's several blog posts worth of material from this one talk!) 

I found out how shark immune systems are similar to our own and how their immune systems can be used to generate cures for human disease (like cancer) at Cafe Scientifique Aberdeen with the fantastic Helen Dooley.  

• I learnt how time was decided and rolled out across the UK (and finally how it reached Aberdeen) at the final Discovery Gallery talk in Aberdeen. 

• Could too much fat be bad for your brain (and memory) as you get older? The talks at Bring Your Own Brain got me thinking....

On Saturday, I had an amazing time talking to people; scientists who had volunteered their time and visitors to Satrosphere Science Centre for the Discovery Day.

Unfortunately, I had too much fun during the week and started to feel a bit ill so I have spent the weekend recovering.

If you missed NSEW 2014 don't worry, there are plenty more events taking place in Aberdeen in April! 

I will also update this page with links to further pictures, summaries, podcasts and videos when they appear online! 

National Science and Engineering Week in Aberdeen

National Science and Engineering Week starts this week in the UK.

There's a whole programme of interesting speakers, workshops, hands on activities for people of all ages covering a HUGE array of topics taking place all over the UK.

There are lots of free events in Aberdeen and there is a lovely shiny brochure! All put together by the British Science Association Branch in Aberdeen (disclosure, I am a branch member).

Nearly all events are free and most don't even require booking so there is no excuse not to try out something new this week.  

If getting outdoors is your thing why not join the forestry commission in the woods? or take a walk in the gardens? Or if you want to experience some science while relaxing with a coffee then there are talks from researchers covering the latest findings and thoughts on topics such as Parkinson's Disease to talks on the history of how we mapped the globe. These are all taking place at various locations in the city every night next week. We will even have a visit from the children's book author Lucy Hawking (daughter of Stephen).

Don't miss Discovery Day either, this is a chance to visit Satrosphere Science Centre (FOR FREE) and mingle with scientists and researchers, watch some science shows and try your hands at some fun activities and exciting challenges.

Hope to see you there!