Public Programme in South Yorkshire 12–21 March 2010

Learn a range of different techniques for drawing animals and other natural specimens. Artist Paul Evans will lead this six week course, suitable for all levels.

£60/£54, please book in advance on 0114 278 2655 or e-mail us.

The Kitchen Sink Show takes children on a journey around the kitchen, opening up a world of science fun.

A visit to Magna offers a spectacular journey around the old steelworks. Four pavilions – Air, Earth, Fire and Water– of interactive exhibits explore science and technology. Why not let us come to you and book the Kitchen Sink Show for your school.

Visit the Magna website for more details, or phone 01709 723 116 to make an education booking.

Pupils (under 16) £4.70 (inc VAT)

Nature has many patterns: patterns that we take for granted but may not have thought possible to understand; the shape of a leaf, the colours of a butterfly, the stripes of a zebra. This lecture is a journey of understanding, how single atoms come together to form crystals and how the chemical processes that give rise to spots and stripes can be understood by the science of ‘self organisation’.

A crucial part of the lecture is the demonstration of a mixture of chemicals which changes colour every minute! This is much more than a scientific party trick. It is the basis of the mechanism that produces zebra stripes, and leopard’s spots but may also play a crucial role in developmental biology when a spherical embryo starts to evolve into a creature with a defined shape.

Finally we see that science uses the methods of self organisation to construct useful materials and devices.

Emeritus Professor Gillian Gehring OBE is a physicist from the University of Sheffield. She was awarded the Mott Medal and Prize by the Institute of Physics and is an Honorary Fellow of both the Institute of Physics and European Physical Society. Her research area is magnetism which requires the growth of thin films. This led her to be concerned about growth of films and for many years she has given presentations to primary school children on how solids grow.

This lecture is free. To reserve a place contact Linda Bray on 0114 225 4870 or email us.

Serious science gets seriously entertaining! Catch these amazing practical demonstrations live at the museum – then try them at home to astound your friends and family. In conjunction with the University of Sheffield. Part of National Science and Engineering Week.

Free, no need to book, just drop in.

A geological walkabout in Sheffield City Centre.

The natural stone in the buildings of the city centre, can tell a fascinating story. Sheffield was once on the Equator, and much of England was once a hot desert. How much has the Earl of Shrewsbury lost since last year?

The route runs from the Peace Gardens to the Cathedral forecourt. Come with warm clothing.

No booking required.

Contact Peter Kennett, Tel 0114 236 1271 (representing The Earth Science Education Unit, and Yorkshire Geological Society)

There will be a demonstration of HF and VHF radio transmitters in use, Morse code, short wave receivers and more. There will be an opportunity to use receiving equipment and, under supervision, pass greetings messages to radio amateurs around the world.

For more information contact us via SARC website

Teams of four are invited to take part in this light-hearted fun-filled general knowledge (and little science) quiz. Cash prizes of £75, £50 and £25. All teams warmly welcomed. Nibbles provided – sponsored by the IET.

For further information contact: Linda Bray on 0114 225 4888/4870 or email.

Join Alistair McLean, Curator of Natural History for an introduction to all things dinosaur, including a chance to see models and specimens.

Free, no need to book.

“What on Earth” is the theme of this year’s National Science and Engineering Week and this presentation by students and staff of the Mechanical Engineering Subject Group will answer the question “What on Earth will we do about energy?”

The lecture starts with a review of current energy usage and examines the changes that will be required to meet the demands of supply, reliability, safety and competitiveness. This century will see major changes in world energy demand which is likely to more than double while at the same time conventional sources of energy deplete.

The session will present the audience with different perspectives on energy, focused on something we all can relate to: transport and energy in the home. Students from the energy engineering and automotive engineering courses will play ‘Devil’s advocate’ with the audience, challenging them to consider the following questions: “what you will do as individuals?”, “what changes in lifestyle will you tolerate?” “and how will you reduce your carbon footprint?”.

A key factor will be energy efficiency and you should be able to profit from attending as some simple changes, we will suggest, can save you money off your fuel bills.

This lecture is free: To reserve a place contact Linda Bray on 0114 225 4870 or email us.

A geological tour of Sheffield with Gaynor Boon, Curator of Earth Sciences & Meteorology. Find out where you can go to see rocks, fossils and minerals.

Free, no need to book.

Don’t be fooled by claims that the Victorian Age of Brunel and his peers marked the pinnacle of British Engineering. Isambard Kingdom Brunel certainly left a big impression, but today’s society expects engineering to be a lot subtler. The infrastructure of our energy supply, transport and communications should be reliable but unobtrusive. The technological devices that improve our lives must be ingenious, but they ought also to be discreet.

We are much better at hiding the wiring than the Not-In-My-Back-Yard brigade would have us believe; so good in fact that we’re prone to overlooking the achievements. This lecture is an unashamed showcase for a veiled world of technological audacity and brilliance. It also aims to demonstrate how interconnected this world of hidden engineering is, and how its concepts and principles are founded in the science that we’ve all studied but many of us have forgotten.

The lecture starts with a look at renewable energy in the form of an offshore wind turbine, revealing the wide range of engineering skills and resources needed to harness power from this source. From there, the lecture explores interconnected technologies as diverse as body scanners, the last and the next Olympic Games, road safety and a few of the most powerful machines on earth. The projects and products considered, reveal some of the greatest challenges faced by technologists today – in energy resources and climate change, in demographics and genetics and in globalisation.

With a mixture of real and virtual footage of example projects, and with bench-top demonstrations to illustrate some of the underlying principles, the lecture is intended to entertain as well as inform. Most of all, it’s intended to convey the value and rewards of an engineering career, and the gratitude we all owe to those who pursue it.

This lecture is free. To reserve a place contact Linda Bray on 0114 225 4870 or email us.

Join us as we launch Food Glorious Food in style. Weston Park will take on all the atmosphere of a village fete, with food, music and dancing. Prizes will be awarded for the best fancy dress costume on the theme of your favourite vegetable.

Free, no need to book, just drop in.

Utilizing library and internet resources to find out how to make low and no cost fuel/energy savings in your home and workplace.

How to implement personal actions to your fuel use [e.g. switch off the clock on the microwave – over the year it can use more energy than all the cooking done in it.]; to include renewable technologies applicable in the home and to gain new skills to change ones life for the better.

One to one information sessions by appointment.

To find out how to sign–up contact: e-mail us or fax/tel 0114 249 9459 or Reference and Information Library 0114 273 4737.

No, not another pop festival among the tombs, but a peaceful walk around the other sorts of rock! Discover how well (or how badly!) the Victorians selected and carved their tombstones and how the memorials have fared since. Let the stones teach you about the evolution of the Earth itself, and of the British Isles in particular.

No booking required.

For further details contact Peter Kennett, 0114 236 1271 (representing the General Cemetery Trust, Earth Science Education Unit, and Yorkshire Geological Society)

Let locally and internationally renowned collector Ken Hawley introduce you to the wide and wonderful selection of tools of the muck spreading and earth-shifting trade to be found in the Hawley Collection.

Museum entrance fees apply: Adult £4.00, Concessions £3.00

Places are on a first-come, first reserved basis, from Jeanette Newcombe, Events Team, University of Sheffield. Tel 0114 222 1030 or email us.

Family Fun Day

A day of science experiments, design activities, make-and-take-home, and ‘Science Alive’ role play, discovering how the Earth’s rocks and rivers helped create Sheffield.

Hawley Gallery Preview

Join short preview tours of the soon-tobe opened Hawley Gallery – the new home of the world famous Hawley Tool Collection.

Tours are running throughout the day and one will follow each of the above talks. Attendance is optional.

Adult £4.00, Concessions £3.00, Children (accompanied by adult) free, unfortunately chidren will not be able to attend the talks but will be able to participate in the other activities in ‘Science Sunday – Earth to Sheffield’.

For further information contact: Education Department 0114 201 0613 or Audience Development 0114 276 2602.

Join the Centre for Science education for an exciting 2 hour session covering a range of activities including marzipan flower sculptures to explain the background to the Golden Number.

Free, no need to book, just drop in.

Discover more about the wonderful world of birds, complete our Love Birds challenge, meet the RSPB and join in with some high flying art work.

Free, no need to book, just drop in.

Make your own interactive art and computer games in this fun, handson workshop covering the basics of computer programming using ‘Scratch’, a computer programming language designed for young people. This event relates to Lovebytes presents Code-Craft, a free exhibition at the Millennium Gallery.

£4 per child, adult carers free.

Come along and make your own Butterfly, then release it into the virtual world! A drop-in craft workshop for children 4+, exploring how insects they make can come alive using computer technology. This event relates to Lovebytes presents Code-Craft, a free exhibition at the Millennium Gallery.

£1 per child, adult carers free.

Create your own interactive digital art in this introduction to creative coding which makes use of free open source software. This is an introductory level workshop, but basic computer skills are required.

£25/£22.50, please book in advance on 0114 278 2655 or e-mail us.

Go rooting around Owlthorpe for minibeasts that may have slipped your attention with Paul Richards, Senior Curator of Natural History.

Free, please book in advance on 0114 278 2655 or e-mail us.

A new series of animated bug-related short films are now showing on the Big Bug Show’s big screen. First shown at the 2009 Showcomotion children’s film festival, these miniature delights will entertain and amuse. Supported by Showroom Cinema.

Free, no need to book, just drop in.