Events

Objects of Invention

Objects of Invention 1

It is always nice when something you have worked on is acknowledged by others, so we are very pleased to hear that our Objects of Invention initiative, which ran during 2013, has been shortlisted from over 230 entries nationally in the Engage Competition, run by the National Coordinating Centre for Public Engagement (NCCPE).

Objects of Invention 2Objects of Invention was developed in partnership with the University’s Department of Engineering Science and funded by the Royal Academy of Engineering‘s Ingenious programme for public engagement. The idea was generated by our lead education officer Chris Parkin as a way to capitalise on the Museum’s remarkable collection of inventive artefacts while enabling young student engineers to gain experience in public engagement.

A total of 18 engineers, mainly graduate students, were involved in the project including a strong contingent of biomedical engineers. After a series of training sessions in methods of public engagement and museum object handling, supported by the Joint Museums’ Volunteers Service, the students devised activities for a family day in March to coincide with National Science and Engineering Week 2013. This event attracted a near-record single day audience of over 2,000 visitors.

This was quickly followed by a schools’ event and two further days for schools in June which together attracted over 160 secondary students from local schools. Activities ranged from experimenting with gyroscopes and Stirling engines, to steam pumps and mobile medical devices.

The winners of the Engage Competition Awards will be announced on Wednesday 11 June at a ceremony at the Natural History Museum, London. The competition forms part of Universities Week, a week-long celebration of public engagement with research that is taking place across the UK from the 9 June.

Fingers crossed on the night – watch this space for further news!

Reactions – An exploration of science and the arts

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15-23 March 2014

MHS Librarian Jennifer Howard explores the art and science of Albrecht Dürer on Sunday 16 March.

Coming up at the Oxford University Museums is a set of events and activities during National Science and Engineering Week and the Oxfordshire Science Festival all exploring science and the arts. It’s called Reactions and is being hosted across all four museums – here, at the Ashmolean, the Museum of Natural History, and the Pitt Rivers Museum.

Running over a whole week, from 15-23 March, the fourteen events in the Reactions programme all address or reflect the connections, opportunities or perceived tensions between science and the arts, some directly, others gently. There’s something for everyone across the week, from lectures to workshops, to dance and filmmaking.

Here at the Museum of the History of Science sound artist Ray Lee will talk about his fascination with the hidden world of electromagnetic radiation and sound waves, demonstrating the science and philosophy behind his unique installations and strange instruments, and our librarian Jennifer Howard takes a look at why Renaissance artist Albrecht Dürer is of interest to artists and scientists alike.

Ray Lee with his sonaesthetic oscillethergraph. Ray is talking at the MHS on Wednesday 19 March.

There’s also a talk on mathematics and art by Professor Marcus du Sautoy at the Museum of Natural History, and a science of pollination dance workshop for children by Siobhan Davies Dance at the Ashmolean.

There are family events too – Crystals Day here and the Wow! How? science fair at the Museum of Natural History and Pitt Rivers Museum, both suitable for adults and children.

The full programme lists everything else that is going on and gives links to booking pages for any bookable events. Hopefully you’ll find a few interesting and perhaps thought-provoking things to see and do during the week.

Unlocking the Brain

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Next week is international Brain Awareness Week and we couldn’t let this pass without some hands-on brain investigation in the Museum. Like last year, we have teamed up with University of Oxford neuroscientists to bring you five days of family friendly activities, games and interactive experiments.

Researchers from the University will be presenting a series of interactive demonstrations suitable for everyone aged six and over. Visualize your own speech sounds, and learn how our ears and brains process them. See how functional imaging provides a window into the working of the brain; and have a go at using your brainwaves to move an object! This and much more to test, intrigue and indeed unlock the secrets of your brain.

Unlocking the Brain is running daily, 12-5pm, from Tuesday 11 to Friday 14 March, and again on Sunday 16 March, 2-5pm (on Saturday we have the exciting Crystals Day too).

Left and right brain: myths and reality
On Thursday 13 March at 7pm, Professor Dorothy Bishop from the Department of Experimental Psychology at the University of Oxford will present a free lecture at the Museum looking at the role of the brain’s two hemispheres.

It’s common to hear claims that you can “train the right side of your brain” or that the left side of the brain is analytic and the right side intuitive. But how do scientists study the function of the two sides of the brain to test such claims, and do people vary in how the two sides of the brain are organised? If so, does it matter? Come along to find out…