Wednesday 9 February 2011

The Royal Institution

I'm in the mood to explore London & visit places that are new for me. So on Tuesday evening I went with a few friends to a talk at the Royal Institution [link] whose impressive building houses a museum & charity dedicated to connecting people with the world of science. When I was a child I was strangely fixated - given that I have no aptitude for the sciences at all - with a Ladybird book about the scientist Michael Faraday most famous for his work with electricity and magnetism. He was a member of the Royal Institution & I was thrilled to find, on the lower ground floor, Faraday's magnetic laboratory as it was in the 1850s. The talk was also interesting. It was given by Philip Ball the science writer [link] and based on his new book 'Unnatural'. The Heretical Idea of 'Making People' [link] and just made me want to read this and a hundred other books! At the end of the talk, when the audience were invited to ask questions, a couple of my friends did have great ones but were too shy to ask ! However, we did spill out in to a mild February evening continuing our own lively debate. There is a whole season of talks at The Royal Institution and if you are in London I think it's well worth a visit ! Love tt