There are many ways to find science events appropriate for all ages (many of which are free) in your local area.
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The curiosities at the University of Copenhagen Geology Museum are well worth a visit if you have a free couple of hours in the city.
I have to admit, I think Copenhagen is my favourite city. My husband spent last year living there and I got to know it quite well but I never managed to visit the museum in that time. It isn’t open regular hours, so check before you go.
The museum isn’t huge but there are a number of small exhibits over two floors and you can look round in an hour or two. It is located in the stunning Botanical Gardens which are well worth a walk through and, if the weather is nice, there’s a small cafe where you can buy a coffee to sit on the grass and appreciate the surroundings. The gardens are completely free to visit.
At the entrance to the Geology Museum you are greeted by the sixth largest fragment of meteorite on Earth, Agpalilik. You can touch it and have your picture taken with it, if you like. It looks like a large rock. Hard to believe that it is actually made of iron and weighs a massive 20,000 kilograms. The fragment is from the Cape York meteorite, named after the place it was found in Greenland. It collided with earth around 10,000 years ago and you can learn more about the meteorite, its discovery and formation inside the museum.
There are four main exhibition spaces in the Geology Museum at the moment. The majority of the exhibition descriptions are written in Danish and that made for a fun game of ‘guess what this is’. It helped that I was there with a geologist who could answer some of my questions. That said, the people working in the museum were incredibly helpful and explained/translated some of the information that I was particularly interested in. They are student volunteers so if you do go, make sure you do chat to them.
The tour starts in the ‘Solar System’ exhibition which includes a slice of one of the largest meteorite fragments on the planet. You may have noticed a chunk missing from the meteorite in the picture above. It’s an impressive sight. One side hasn’t been treated but the other has been polished. You can even see my reflection.
You can see dark patches in the meteorite which are the rare earth mineral, troilite. There’s a fantastic online resource, written by Danish scientists, detailing more about the solar system exhibit, the story of the meteorite fragment discovery and the work of researchers at the University of Copenhagen here.
The Solar System exhibit features videos from current research scientists which are fantastic. The videos include a story of the discovery as told by Professor Vagn F. Buchwald who found the meteorite fragment. He also explains how they created the slice of the meteorite displayed in the museum. Cutting through solid iron isn’t easy. The videos also tell stories of the importance of studying diamond dust, formed from the explosions of dying stars, which is helping us to understand the early universe.
I really liked the way this exhibition integrated physical objects with the current scientific research and the scientists involved.
The Hubble Deep Field image on the ceiling gave me some ideas for when I redecorate my bedroom too.
Moving away from space the other exhibits included a geological history of Greenland in some fantastic exhibition cases. This part of the museum is all in Danish.
Upstairs is my second favourite exhibition in the museum, Flora Danica. The exhibition tells the story of the creation and printing of the complete volume of wild plants and fungi native to Denmark. The exhibition includes unpublished works too that have been kept hidden for 130 years in a store room. Flora Danica is a real art – science collaboration from the 18th Century. You can see the beautiful images online here on the Royal Library website.
The museum also houses the All things strange and beautiful exhibition. This contains some of the rather bizarre collections and letters of the 17th Century Danish physician, Ole Worm, who’s collection of oddities made one of the first museums in the world. He had a keen interest, as a physician, in new cures from nature. Beside the objects displayed are his own interpretations of what they are, and what they meant. These include letters to Pliny the Elder about stones which guarantee to ensure ‘prophetic dreams’. Some are amusing to read but they do remind you of how we have categorised and learnt about the world around us through observation, study and communication.
A horses jaw enclosed in an oak tree root, from the cabinet of curiosities
I especially enjoyed his scientific debunking of the ‘mouse that fell from the sky’ a common myth that Norway lemmings, which have rapidly fluctuating population, were spontaneously generated in the clouds. Ole Worm disproved this by dissection, demonstrating that the lemmings have sexual organs, but he did admit that the lemmings could be swept up to the sky by the brutal Scandinavian winds to then rain down from the clouds.
‘The mouse that fell from the sky’ the Norwegian Lemming
Lastly, but by no means least. It wouldn’t be a geology museum without a minerals collection. This one didn’t disappoint and it came complete with a display of fluorescent rocks.
The Geology Museum is part of the University of Copenhagen’s Natural History Museum (which is actually made up of several museums). There’s a lot of redevelopment going on to create a large, connected, museum. The plans look fantastic and I hope I can revisit the museum when it is completed in 2017.
The museum costs:
Adults DKK 40
Children (age 3-16): DKK 25
Students at University of Copenhagen Free admission
You can also buy a season ticket DKK 140.- (adults) and DKK 75.- (children) – also valid at the Zoological Museum and to special exhibitions.
It is free for those that have purchased a Copenhagen Card.
Check opening times before you visit on the website.
The museum is located on the edge of the Botanical Gardens and across the road from the Satens Museum for Kunst.
This September I was lucky enough to participate in (and visit) the Orkney International Science Festival.
Orkney is a place I have always wanted to visit, and if you don’t know where it is, it’s located off the North East tip of Scotland. It’s home to ancient stone circles, viking settlements and lots of excellent seafood and beer.
The science festival was great. There were public talks every day in venues around Kirkwall (the main city in Orkney). I met a few people that travel to Orkney each year especially for the science festival which usually runs in September.
I attended some great talks on diverse topics from brewing viking beer, the life of James Hutton and how a project about knitting can help us understand mathematics better (more about that here in Frontiers Magazine). My favourite talk though was given by Tom Stevenson from the Museum of Communication in Fife about the developments in communication during wartime and the role Orkney played in the world wars.
Which leads me swiftly on to some of the awesome science-y things you can visit in Orkney even if the science festival isn’t in town.
Orkney is home to the Orkney Wireless Museum this is a volunteer staffed treasure trove of anything related to wireless communication and sound. I didn’t get to spend enough time as I would have liked in here and I definitely want to return for a closer look and browse.
The museum is basically one room crammed from floor to ceiling with collections of radios, gramophones and transmitters. It’s free to visit but does take donations to help support the upkeep of the museum. They have a website with some further information about the museum and its history. Due to its reliance on volunteers you may find that the museum isn’t open when you expect it to be.. . (just a warning there). The museum is only open between April and September (like many attractions in Orkney). It is also open on a Saturday.
This is a wireless receiver from 1912. That’s over 100 years old (stating the obvious there).
As we were travelling to schools with our science show we got to visit some interesting places around the island. It’s a beautiful place and we were blessed with incredible weather. What I didn’t realise about Orkney is that it is actually a collection of islands (I thought it was just one island). Some of which are connected by bridges. These were originally constructed y by Italian prisoners of war who were held on Orkney during WW1. They were built not as bridges but by barriers to German U-boats.
The Italian prisoners of war also built this incredible Italian chapel which is well worth a drive to see. It’s really easy to get around Orkney by car. It can be really windy though!
These ‘bricks’ are all painted on.
In the area you can also see the remains of the scuttled German fleet from 1919 in Scapa Flow. These are all based around 30-40 minute drive from Kirkwall.
You can see more of my photos from Orkney by clicking on the photo below
There’s also some very interesting geology in Orkney but I think I will leave that for another trip.
Experience a tropical rainforest in the UK.
This summer I spent a week in Cornwall and as always before we go on a trip I did some searching to see if there are any science-y things we could visit or see. The Eden Project is an obvious choice. It isn’t hidden, secret, or off the beaten track but for a day trip but it’s well worth a visit. You can take your dog too.
The Eden Project experience starts before you even walk through the doors of the entrance and everything (including the car parking arrangements) is carefully thought out and planned. The whole site is built on an old quarry. It’s more than just a visitor attraction too as it is a research site and social enterprise. They also host music and foody events.
Walking through the entrance you get an incredible view of the Eden Project biomes – two huge constructions that are home to the Mediterranean and Tropical zones (but more about them later).
If, over the summer holidays, you visited a service station on a motorway within driving distance to the Eden Project you will know that between July and September that it is home to DINOSAURS. There’s a dig pit, activities and talks. I wanted to see what the exhibition was all about so we joined the queue to see it. As, like everything at the Eden Project, the system is well thought out there are exhibition stands and information as you queue to see the crater of the Tyrant King. I learnt some things that I didn’t realise about dinosaurs in the queue.
I liked the approach of putting the information and exhibition boards where people were waiting to see the main event, rather than afterwards when people want to rush off – rather than standing and waiting. *spoiler alert* if you don’t want to see what is in the lair, skip the next photo!
Next we visited the Mediterranean Biome which contains plants from Mediterranean climates. This section also has a herb garden, restaurant and plants that you can grow at home.
My favourite part of the Eden Project is in the Rainforest Biome though. It is HOT and HUMID. It’s also contains the largest rainforest in captivity, contains over 16,000 individual plants and a waterfall.
There’s a new canopy walkway where you can walk around the top of the biome. You can even visit the platform at the top of the canopy which is suspended from the roof. It’s an incredible experience but not one for those that don’t like heights. You might need to queue for this bit, but it is worth waiting in the heat to get a view of the canopy from above.
Don’t look down!
The trail to the suspended ceiling contains these information stands. I really liked this one about Mary Henrietta Kingsley.
Outside there are gardens, ferns and tips for growing your own food and veg. The shop is fantastic with lots of unusual gifts and products. I picked up a couple of books on growing your own veg. There’s also a plant shop where you can buy some of the plants in the Eden Project.
As with lots of big visitor attractions the Eden Project can get very, very busy. It was a raining when we visited. I expect on warmer days throughout the summer it might be a little quieter as everyone is at the beach! Plan to arrive early to beat the crowds and make the most of your time there. It’s massive. I’ve been twice and still not seen everything. The queues are made bearable by the use of interesting things to read and good planning!
I took many more photos and you can see them all here on my Flickr page.
Eden Project Visitor Info
The Eden project isn’t cheap at £23.50 for an adult ticket but you can get a £10 discount if you travel by public transport (more info on how to get there by bus, train and bike here) and 15% off if you buy your ticket online. You only need one ticket for a whole year too as it is valid for 12 months. This means you can experience the changes in the plants throughout the year! Check the website for other special discounts and voucher codes too.
Opening times can vary depending on the time of year check here for information but the Eden Project is usually open on every day of the year. There are special events that run throughout the year – see the website for more details.
A new hostel is opening at the Eden Project in October 2014. It looks great and is cheap at £12 for a bed!
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| There is so much more to the museum than dinosaurs but it wouldn’t be right to feature a blog post without a picture of Dippy. |
Speaking of collections, you wouldn’t believe it from the empty looking main hall in the photograph below but there are over 70 MILLION specimens held in the museum. 70 MILLION. Can you get your head round a number that big? I can’t. These range from giant squid to tiny specimens on microscopic slides.
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Darwin watching over the main hall. The Earth Hall. Unfortunately the escalators weren’t working so I couldn’t travel through the Earth. |
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| A partially digested head from a Sperm Whale’s stomach of course. |
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| Disco rocks are found on the first floor of the museum. |
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| This was my favourite exhibition in the museum which is the Images of Nature gallery. There are some beautiful drawings, paintings and visualisations of nature. |
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| I was visiting the museum for Universities Week 2014 so there were lots of pop-up exhibitions going on including a volcano on the lawn. |
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| A view of of the main hall from above |
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| At the very top of the hall is a section of trunk from the giant sequoia tree. It’s HUGE and this tree was over 1300 years old when it was felled. |
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| The museum is far to big to get round in one day. I’ve been a number of times and still haven’t seen most of the building. I’m glad I wandered up to the top of the hall to see this ceiling though. |
I really enjoyed the ‘Treasures’ exhibition too and you can explore that online. It’s a small exhibition but each of the exhibits in this collection are of mind-blowingly huge significance. This includes a first edition book of Darwin’s On the Origin of Species published in 1859 and the oldest UK lion skull since the extinction of wild cave lions. I didn’t even know these were a thing.
If you walk through the doors of the Natural History Museum I think it’s impossible to walk out again without saying ‘Wow, I never knew that’.
The museum is open every day from 10 am and is FREE!
Meet and hear from researchers looking at Motor Neurone Disease. They will be in Satrosphere all afternoon delivering talks and sharing their work! (there is a small charge for the entrance fee to Satrosphere but it’s TOTALLY worth it and their cafe is ACE).
Visit the Cruickshank Botanic Gardens (that are looking beautiful at the moment) or Duthie Park (yes, all FREE)!
See the Gray’s School of Art Degree Show? (not science, but plenty of awesome design to be seen there!) Open 10-5 on Saturday and Sunday
Exhibitions..
Satrosphere Science Centre have loads of events and exhibitions going on throughout the week and weekend including their ‘minibeast little scientist days’, the ‘grey matters’ family show and the ‘we are aliens’ planetarium show! Some charges do apply and check here for full details.
Seventeen (Belmont street) ‘Breathless Breastless‘ A breast cancer awareness art exhibition (10 -5 every day, 10-4 Sunday)
Kings Museum, Old Aberdeen, Exploring the concept of time ‘Victorian Time: Spirit of the Age’ (10-4 Monday -Friday, 11-4 Saturday)
Seen any others that I haven’t mentioned? Email me!
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The plant life, layout and design of the park is great. I like the way they have used bamboo and wood to create the enclosures. My dad made friends through the glass with this Fulvous Whistling Duck.
This box of awesomeness has been created to get children aged 4-10 excited about the universe. Created by the very cool sounding ‘Universe Awareness Team’ the box contains a range of activities and props including a solar system, globe and activity book. It includes everything a teacher or kids group leader would need to run over 40 activities and inspire the young ‘ens.
The wonderful Abi Ashton who is working on their Kickstarter project which is aiming to get the Universe in Box to underprivileged communities around the globe said she liked the box because it is, “lo-tech and can be used anywhere in a hi-tech world (particularly because places with less technology tend to be richer in astronomy resources- less light pollution)”
You can support their Kickstarter project here and get your own Universe related goodies in return and be happy knowing that you are supporting a fantastic project. Because the Universe should be universal……
AND if you are a big kid that wants to nosy you can try out and look through the activities online here.
‘Exercise as a Preventative of and remedy in diseases.’ Much like the Cafe MED we hosted on Monday night titled Exercise and Health. Although the Medico-Chirgical society had a very strict policy that only members could discuss matters. Now we involved the public.
I know this because you can have a nosy at all the minutes and information from the society in the published online archives here which I thought was pretty cool.
The Society of Biology have launched a competition for school age children to create art work based on biology. They want people to film themselves creating their works for the competition which closes in August. There are lots of resources for those wanting to participate (including group leaders and teachers) on their website.
For some bio-inspired art check out Artologica on Etsy who creates some awesome art works.
The 6th of May is the start of the University of Aberdeen May Festival MAY-HEM. There are LOADS of events taking place for adults and families across the weekend. Lots are bookable in advance but there are lots of drop in sessions too. I’ve rounded up my picks of the bunch below.
