The Futurarium
The Futurarium (formerly known as ‘the Science Tent’) hosts a variety of smaller stands and exhibits covering very different scientific topics. But they will all engage, inform and entertain visitors!
We Will Rock You
Energy: the sun on your skin; the thrum of the bass; the wind in your hair. Our ability to harness energy has driven civilisation and technology to incredible advances and discoveries, but at what cost to the planet?
Join the Geological Society and Responsible Raw Materials to explore the future of energy through stunning minerals, ores and crystals helping us to harness solar, wind and natural heat for a sustainable future. Crystals aren’t just for aligning your chakras!
Photo credits: © The Geological Society / Benedict Johnson
The Great Ape Challenge
Language makes humans different to other animals, but how language emerged through evolution remains a mystery. The Great Ape Challenge is a comparative research project, funded by The Leverhulme Trust, to investigate the evolution and development of language. Professor Gilly Forrester (Birkbeck, University of London) has developed puzzles that mimic language structure and can be manipulated by all great apes (including us humans) to test a unique theory about how our human speech emerged over evolutionary time and develops in modern human children. Experiments with these same puzzle boxes have been taking place across the UK with chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans and humans looking at how different ape species use their hands to solve problems. Take the Great Ape Challenge! (suitable for adults and children ages 2+).
Photo credits: © Top left photo credit to David Stock, New Scientist
Can You Dig It?
From peas in the playing fields to celery from the cemetery – our towns and cities have lots of spaces which we could use to grow food. But what would urban farming do for our health? Could it really help put food on the table? What would it do to our environment? Join us and explore what a future world where city spaces become food growing places has to offer. Our stall is a celebration of the diverse science – from agronomy to ecology to psychology – that’s needed to understand how we can more fairly and sustainably meet our food needs. You will learn about the science of urban food growing, including where, what and how much food we could grow, and the benefits to people and the planet. With fun activities for all ages and a range of scientists on hand, everyone can dig it!
Moon Base Glasto
Want to know what it takes to live on the moon? How do we even get there in the first place? Join two space engineers in the Futurarium for hands-on demo’s of core concepts of space rocket engineering, as well as the science of how rocket fuel will be made out of water ice trapped in the permanently shadowed craters at the lunar South pole. Expect interactive activities suitable for all ages ranging from constructing model lunar bases to demonstrating the physics of chemical propulsion.
Climate Change Science with IPCC Authors
How is climate change already affecting the world we live in? How can our collective actions today shape the future of tomorrow? What is the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and how does its work feed into international climate negotiations such as at COP26? This is your chance to ask these questions and more to world-leading experts who worked on the latest IPCC climate change report.
The Buzzing Bumblearium
Get a buzz for busy bees at the Buzzing Bumblearium!
Insects underpin a wide range of ecological benefits for global food production – from natural enemies of pests that attack crops, through to the crucial role of pollinators. Without insects pollinating our crops we would have little to harvest and a much less diverse supermarket shelf. Not to mention the importance of wild pollination in maintaining healthy, functioning ecosystems!
Come along and marvel at bees in action in the University of Reading’s Buzzing Bumblearium! While watching busy bees you can get busy finding out how important these insects are in the global food chain and how you can help these valuable creatures. Our friendly insect-specialists (entomologists) are on-hand to answer your pollinator questions.
