The British Science Festival 2009 begins! It promises everything from Darwin to dishonesty labs, microscopes to memory, covering everything from the microscopic virus to the entire milky way. The first event I attended was an informative lecture on ‘Transition Towns’. I have to admit I had never heard of the project before, but I soon learned that this was a community based initiative which aims to begin to make the necessary changes in our lifestyles to prepare for limited oil supplies and the effects of climate change. This made me realise more than ever that we need to act now to prevent irreversible damage to our planet, or suffer the consequences of our actions.

Next – a stop in to see the progress of the Blue Peter 1 spaceship – this talk made me nostalgic for my childhood days! The speaker, Dr Maggie Adenn-Pocock, delivered an inspiring talk, telling the children in the audience to follow every dream, even if they suffer from learning difficulties as she did.

This left time for me and Diana to have a look around Guildford high street to see the exhibits and do some sight seeing.

To finish off the evening was a talk called ‘what’s so funny about science?’ which encouraged participation from the audience to add their jokes. The best contribution: two atoms were walking down the road and one said to the other “I think I’ve lost an electron”. “Are you sure?” the other asked. “Yes, I’m positive!!”

Emma

Continue to Day 2