Clifton Scientific Trust - Journey into Science: Talks, Presentations & Discussions

The Music of the Spheres
or
THE NIGHT JOB
A SHORT PLAY WITH MUSIC & HANDS-ON SCIENCE
Saturday 18^th March 2000, at 7.30 pm
St Mary Redcliffe Church, Bristol, UK
£1 at the door

Music was their day job. William Herschel was Director of Music for Bath & an internationally celebrated organist & composer, while his sister Caroline was a celebrated singer. But science was their night job. William designed & built the most powerful telescopes of the 18th century, & made many discoveries, from Uranus, the first new planet identified for thousands of years, to infra-red rays. Caroline not only helped in all aspects of her brother's work, but independently discovered comets & nebulae, & was the first woman to be elected to the Royal Astronomical Society. The play uses the humour, drama & warm humanity of their hectic lives & work to illustrate the theme of the unity of art & science.

Actors from the acclaimed Saltford Players have collaborated with musicians & scientists from Bath & Bristol to create this multi-media presentation with echoes of traditional street theatre, & dialogue specially written by Heidi Hollis. After the play you are invited to discuss the issues & use the scientific equipment.

26 February 2000; Hot Air or Hazard? Power Lines, Mobile Phones and Health: Electromagnetism and the Body; Dr Alan Preece, Head of the Biophysics Group of the Department of Medical Physics at the Bristol Oncology Centre, presented a fascinating summary of the research (including his own) into the effects of power lines and mobile phones on health.

13 February 99; Cracked; Drama and discussion on mental illness; Y Touring Theatre's acclaimed production of Nicola Baldwin's Cracked involved the audience in the personal and ethical issues surrounding mental illness. It is aimed particularly at teenage audience but was meaningful and stimulating for all ages.

24 Oct 98; Science and Ethics of the Environment; Greenhouse Warming is Cool; Rainforests, Pandas and a Lot of Hot Air; Professor Philip Stott, Professor of Biogeography, London School of Oriental and African Studies. Professor Stott challenged the truth of much politically correct speak, and suggested that there was a much misinformation and that the politics behind the rhetoric is not what it seems.

20 Jun 98; What's Wrong with Cloning? You Decide: A Debate Led by Students from Bristol Schools with Professor Colin Blakemore and Professor Alastair Campbell.

29 Nov 97; Babes into Persons; The Social World of Infants; John Barrett
University of Bristol, Department of Psychology
How do babies become persons? What do newborns see and hear? Are emotions learned? When does mindreading start? What can be learned from analyzing milk?

14 Jun 97; Babes; They are Smarter than they Look; John Barrett
University of Bristol, Department of Psychology
Learning before birth. What do we learn before birth? When does learning begin? How and why do we behave in the womb? Does birth make a difference to the brain?

15 May 97; Bats in Bristol; A Bat Trek; Dr Gareth Jones
University of Bristol, Department of Zoology
Bristol has a remarkable wealth of bat life. Gareth Jones led an evening visit to sites where they feed. We used bat detectors to hear their ultrasonic signals.

22 Mar 97; Making Sense of the World, Myths, Metaphors and Meaning;
Dr Helen Haste
University of Bath, School of Social Sciences
We make up stories, use metaphors and draw on myths, even when we are understanding scientific ideas.

2 Nov 96; Chaos and the Unpredictable; Professor Chris Budd
University of Bath, School of Mathematical Sciences
Have you ever watched a dripping tap? The drip seems to come at random intervals with no way of predicting exactly when the next drip will drop. Unpredictable behaviour is common in science and chaos helps us explain it.

5 Oct 96; Good Vibrations; the Science of Music; Dr Bernard Richardson
University of Wales, Cardiff, Department of Physics and Astronomy
Why does a musical instrument sound the way it does; the qualities of sound and the way these are related to design and construction.