Brand new for 2011, the London Science Festival took place last week at a number of historic venues around London, including its launch in Shakepeare’s Globe theatre.
LSF11’s mission is to “inspire and engage the public in all things scientific, from natural science to science in its most cultural context”.
The festival featured a comedy night (Festival of the Spoken nerd, Shakespeare, Science and the Senses), film nights and a “Field of Jeans” which explored catalytic clothing, exploring how clothes can be made to help purify the air we breathe. A partnership between the London school of Fashion and the University of Sheffield there may have also been fashion hints there too.
More traditional activities were on offer at more traditional settings, including talks from eminent individuals such as Richard Dawkins and the science minister David Willets, a chance to see the Mars rover Bridget and a session on how to build a large hadron collider.
With hindsight it’s amazing London has not already had a science festival. London is a city brimming with art festivals, writing festival, book festivals, drama festivals and fashion festivals. It’s about time science also got on the scene. I hope it continues for many years to come. And that I can make it next year.
