Summer Science Fair

At the end of most science conferences there is a strange ritual known as the poster display (this is inferred from my grand total conference attendances of one). This surreal session involves everyone wandering around a selection of research summaries, cup of tea in hand, pretending to understand what each display says. The posters are usually filled with bold titles, questionable colour choices and incomprehensible words. And much the same could be said of the scientists reading them.

And it is this realm of incomprehensible research and monotonous graphs that I expected as I walked into the Royal Society’s Summer Science exhibition in Piccadilly today. Instead, the scientists put on a sublime show that was both interesting and accessible to anyone.

The first thing that strikes you, as you walk into the exhibition, is not the displays themselves but the people standing with them. Before you even have a chance to read the exhibit's title, an enthusiastic scientist has rushed over to you and explained the intricacies of a butterfly’s wing or the earth’s aurora. And they all do so in such an understandable way, with the help of great hands-on demonstrations that allow you to ‘play’ with science.

By the end of the first room I have poured ethanol onto a butterfly’s wing to watch how the iridescent colours change, played scalectrics to show how traffic lights might sense cars before they arrive and rubbed a metal plate to see how much static is generated. All in the name of science.

As I leave I have collected a top-trumps pack of physicists, more pencils than I can shake a... well, a pencil at and a great deal of knowledge about physics, maths, biology and engineering. And all this with no sign of the invisible barrier that I found myself behind in the conference poster session. (I'm also thankful to say the garish colour schemes and umpteen scientific terms had disappeared too) I'm sure that places like the Summer Science Fair will help inspire everyone, children especially, to think about science in a new light and, with any luck, get more people into science degrees.