event reports

Couldn't attend one of the events at this year's Festival? Check this page to find out what you missed! Events are shown in reverse order (most recent first).

The Luck Factor, with Prof Richard Wiseman
Sunday 19 June 2011

Wow! How can we do justice to Richard Wiseman's brilliant talk on Sunday? We'd love to think that no one could have got through this year's Monster Science Festival and still think science was dull ... but just in case they had, Richard's talk would have put paid to that idea once and for all!

Richard started out in life entertaining audiences as a professional magician before becoming an academic studying the quirkier aspects of human psychology. And that background really showed through on Sunday! His talk was highly energetic and hilariously funny - while still giving plenty of truly fascinating insights into the way our brains work - and sometimes fail to work.

Richard has made a study of luck, and has demonstrated that people who always appear to be lucky approach their lives differently from the rest of us: they are more likely to be outgoing and therefore likely to meet more people who are able to help them achieve their goals; they view their setbacks positively, tending to consider themselves fortunate that the outcome wasn't even worse; and they have the confidence to trust in good fortune when it comes their way - for instance, an experiment asked 'lucky' and 'unlucky' people to count the number of photographs in a newspaper. But - as you can see in the photo above - the experimenters actually revealed the answer in the newspaper and even offered a reward to anyone telling them they had seen the announcement. The 'lucky' people not only spotted the announcements but acted on them, and drew the benefits from them, whereas the unlucky people were far less likely to see or act on them: they were generally more distrustful of 'lucky' breaks and therefore tended not to make the most of them.

Fascinatingly, further research showed that these 'unlucky' people really could transform their lives when coached to adopt the attitudes of their apparently luckier peers. If you want to find out more, see Richard Wiseman's book, The Luck Factor. You can also find more photos from this lively event on our Flickr page.

Monster Science Family Fun Day
Saturday 18 June 2011

There was all sorts going on at the Midmills Campus on Saturday at our Monster Science Family Fun Day. Visitors were able to find out about electricity, make and launch their own rockets, make their own lava lamps, see all sorts of exotic animals such as snakes and lizards and scorpions, drive computers using nothing but mind-power, take bodies apart - and more!

You can see lots more photos of all the activities on our Flickr page and you can also watch a video of Liz electrocuting a courgette by clicking here!

The Science of Climate Change, with Prof John McClatchey
Friday 17 June 2011

In a detailed and lively presentation, Prof John McClatchey of the Environmental Research Institute in Thurso, now part of North Highland College UHI, explained the background to climatologists' warnings about manmade climate change. One of the more startling details to emerge was that a mere 4-5 degrees C change globally makes the difference between an Ice Age and an interglacial age; and that CO² values in the atmosphere are now 40% higher than pre-industrial levels. Despite the ongoing public debates on this issue, only 3-4% of climatologists argue against human activities lying behind the climate change we are now seeing.

John's comprehensive and detailed PowerPoint presentation will be available for download until 7 July by clicking here, and you can see more photos from this event on our Flickr page.

Stem cells: Vision of the Future
Thursday 16 June 2011

Image: skin created in the lab from stem cells, and used for skin grafts in a young boy with 3rd degree burns over 97% of his body.

Katia Hervy and Clare Blackburn from the University of Edinburgh presented a fascinating documentary exploring stem cell technology and its potential to transform the healthcare of the future. The film stressed that stem cells are not just something offering hope for the future, but are already being used to transform the lives of people affected by previously untreatable conditions. For instance, two boys who had third degree burns over 97% of their bodies, and who had not been expected to survive, were saved because stem cells were used to grow new skin for them in the lab. Meanwhile, in India, many blind patients have had their sight restored through techniques involving stem cells. Neither of these techniques required stem cells from embryos, and the discovery that some specialised cells can be turned back into pluripotent cells (i.e. cells, previously known only in embryos, which have the potential to be turned into any kind of human cell - the most promising kind of cell for healthcare, because it can be used to treat almost any condition) offers hope for a future where embryonic stem cells may not be required for this technology at all. However, there are questions relating to the stability of non-embryonic pluripotent stem cells, so this is still being studied carefully.

All in all it was a fascinating and uplifting documentary, and we do strongly recommend you watch it if you get chance. In the meantime, you can see more images from the film on our Flickr page.

Will the oil run out? with Angus Jamieson
Wednesday 15 June 2011

Did you know? If you were to combine the Gross National Product (GNP) of Kuwait, Iraq, Iran, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Oman and then take out the proportion that comes from oil ... they would be left with the equivalent of the GNP of Denmark.

This was just one of the fascinating things we learned this evening in a genuinely informative and hugely enjoyable talk by Angus Jamieson, formerly CEO of Tech21, now owner of AJ Consulting and Professor of Offshore Engineering with UHI. In addition to explaining some of the huge technical challenges of drilling for oil, he stressed the need to switch to greener, renewable energy sources before the oil that still remains becomes too expensive and too dangerous to extract. At the same time, he explained some of the reasons why, so far, renewables have not taken off as much as they need to, and also made the case for Scotland being well placed to take advantage of the opportunities for renewables. All in all it was a fascinating glimpse into one of the most important issues facing us in the 21st century.

More photos of this event on Flickr.

If you would like to see Angus's Powerpoint presentation, it will be available for download until 29 June 2011 by clicking here (19MB).

Aubrey Manning: The Animals and Ourselves
Tuesday 14 June 2011

Richard Dawkins had told us what to expect: a delightful, informative and stimulating lecture from an utterly charming, engaging and captivating speaker. And that's exactly what we got!

Aubrey outlined our long history of co-existence with animals, and the attempts that have been made to explore the extent to which they do or do not share some of the characteristics that we tend to consider distinctively human (eg. empathy, the ability to learn, the awareness of self etc). He argued against naive over-sentimentality in our assessment of animal behaviour, while making the case for treating animals with empathy and concern. He spoke out against the cruelties of factory farming methods and urged us to select our animal products with care, and also put in a plea for the humble wasp: while it is undoubtedly a pest that needs to be got rid of if it invades your car when you're driving up the A9, it is as highly evolved as we are, and in precisely the same relative position in the evolutionary tree!

More pictures on our Flickr page.

What are my odds?
Monday 13 June 2011

An absolutely fascinating talk by Dr Andrew Duncan of Inverness College, looking at the strange world of numbers: in games shows, in the Lottery, and in the News. He held the audience spellbound and then answered lots of questions afterwards, and everyone went away having learned something new and having had a great time.

You can view a copy of Andrew's presentation by clicking here, and you'll find more photos from the event on our Flickr page.

Highland Wildlife Park
Sunday 12 June 2011

We had a wonderful time touring the Highland Wildlife Park with Education Officer Jasper Hughes. Jasper's entertaining and informative commentary meant we found out far more about the animals than we could have done on an independent visit, and he also explained the vital role that zoos play in wildlife conservation. The majestic Amur Tigers were, for many of us, one of the real highlights of the visit, but we also enjoyed the wonderful diving display put on for us by Walker the polar bear. You can watch a short YouTube video of his performance by clicking here - don't miss his impressive back flip about halfway through.

You'll find lots more photos of this event on our Flickr page.

Supermarket Science
Sunday 12 June 2011

Great fun at Tesco in the Inverness Retail and Business Park last Sunday, when Liz and Gavin made the most of the chance to delve into some goo, with a range of science experiments that can be done at home using everyday ingredients and materials! Many thanks to Tesco for providing the materials and being so very helpful in all kinds of ways.

For more photos of this event, please see our Flickr page, and you can also see a short video by clicking here.

Bionic Ear Show
Sunday 12 June 2011

Tobin May from Deafness Research UK on how the ear works, and how to prevent damage to our hearing. Amazingly, he even showed video of a cell inside the sensitive hairs of the inner ear dancing to the beat of 'One o'clock, two o'clock, three o'clock rock' ... No, really!

For photos of this event, please visit our Flickr page

Eastgate Centre: UHI/Monsterfest stand
Sat 11 June 2011

Visitors to the Eastgate Centre last Saturday had great fun trying to manoeuvre our mouse-controlled robot to pick up polystyrene blocks, and also peering at everything from human skin to a feather to the wings of a fly through UHI's 200x magnification microscope.

For more photos of this event, please visit our Flickr page

Fundraising event: Richard Dawkins
The Science of Beauty and the Beauty of Science
Weds 11 May 2011

Author and evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins held a capacity audience spellbound on Wednesday evening with a stunning presentation on The Science of Beauty and the Beauty of Science, which he had created specially for the Inverness Monster Science Festival. In his trademark style, he managed to convey complex scientific concepts in a way that was immediately understandable as well as exhilarating and entertaining as he explained 'Darwin's Other Theory' - sexual selection - and showed how a range of animals, birds and insects have evolved to select their mates on the basis of aesthetic, rather than purely practical, considerations. After his lecture, he answered a range of audience questions for a further 30-40 minutes before doing a book-signing session for attendees, as generous with his time as he had been with his knowledge.

A genuinely educational and fascinating evening - if you couldn't make it along, you missed something truly special!