Cardiff Science Festival Programme for Saturday 14th July
Science Date
10am – Urdd Centre Classroom
Entry FREE – Call 029 2087 6935 or email publicbookings@cardiff.ac.uk to book.
A chance to take part in a speed dating session with a difference – meet a group of different scientists and ask them whatever you like!
Fossil Hunters
11am, 1pm & 3pm – National Museum Cardiff
Entry FREE
Dig up a fossil, find out what it is, and make your own to fool your friends.
1 hour sessions, bookable on the day.
Suitable for ages 5+
Science of Swimming
11:30am – Urdd Centre Classroom
Entry FREE – Call 029 2087 6935 or email publicbookings@cardiff.ac.uk to book.
With the 2012 Olympics just around the corner, elite athlete turned physics lover, Julie Gould will look at how understanding the science behind swimming makes it more exciting, as well as discussing space-age technology and how it has created waves both in and out of the swimming pool.
Science Rapping
12pm – Science Marquee, Mermaid Quay
Entry FREE – no booking required
Star of CBBC and BBC Bitesize Revision, Jon Chase performs an hour of entertaining and informative science rap music.
Paranoia: “It’s not you, it’s me”
1pm – Urdd Centre Classroom
Entry FREE – Call 029 2087 6935 or email publicbookings@cardiff.ac.uk to book.
Most people can recall a time when they have felt paranoid, and these experiences are common among the general population. But what are the potential consequences of these paranoid experiences? What other characteristics are associated with paranoia, and how does everyday paranoia differ to clinical levels of paranoia? Masters student Charles Cowtan presents the evidence-base while giving insight as to how paranoia is studied.
Institute of Civil Engineers presents:
The Great Western 1855 – 2055: 200 Years of wider economic development
1pm – Norwegian Church
Entry FREE – Call 029 2087 6935 or email publicbookings@cardiff.ac.uk to book.
Professor Stuart Cole presents a talk on the Great Western 1855 – 2055: 200 years of economic development. The paper presents the role of the railway from Paddington the Great Western as a means of economic development of the area its serves primarily south Wales and the West of England. It illustrates firstly how the railway brought new jobs and industrial growth (including tourism) in the second half of the 19 century and the beginning of the twentieth. It then examines the role of the electrified railway and the High Speed Rail proposals and indicates their importance to the future economic prosperity of south Wales
Science of the Voice
1:30pm – Science Marquee, Mermaid Quay
Entry FREE – no booking required
Find out how musical instruments can talk and why Auto-Tune makes President Obama croon. Scientist Wendy Sadler show how musicians mix technology with the richness of human voices to create new sounds. Come prepared to explore some musical science!
Young Engineer of the Year
2:30pm – Norwegian Church
Entry FREE – Call 029 2087 6935 or email publicbookings@cardiff.ac.uk to book.
Jessica Jones, current UK Young Engineer of the Year, will talk about her experiences at the National Science and Engineering Competition and the opportunities that she has gained as a result. She will also address the issue of gender stereotyping and speak about the importance of pursuing an ambition.
The Brain Game
2:30pm – Urdd Centre Classroom
Entry FREE – Call 029 2087 6935 or email publicbookings@cardiff.ac.uk to book.
Presented by Martin Coath from the Plymouth University Cognitive Institute. The aim is to get past all of the confusion that surrounds what people think they know about how the brain works and down to the nitty-gritty of neurons. It is not afraid to expose the fact that in most respects we don’t know how the brain works. That is the essence of the real brain game, the exciting game of neuroscience. Many of the big questions are yet to be answered. The brain game gets people off their chairs to pass messages around the audience in a way that shows how brain cells pass messages, it recruits audience members to play the part of axons and synapses on stage, and it makes sense of words like “axon” and “synapse”! It shines a spotlight on the mystery inside our heads and reveals that in some ways it is very simple, and in others it is the most puzzling thing of all. And it is a very good game.
Destination Titan
3pm – Science Marquee, Mermaid Quay
Entry FREE – no booking required
It’s a voyage of exploration like no other – to Titan, Saturn’s largest moon and thought to resemble our own early Earth. For a small team of British scientists this would be the culmination of a lifetime’s endeavour – the flight alone, some 2 billion miles, would take a full seven years. This is the story of the space probe they built, the sacrifices they made and their hopes for the landing. Would their ambitions survive the descent into the unknown on Titan’s surface? This special show of the film ‘Destination Titan’ will be followed by a Q&A session with film director, Stephen Slater.
Cymdeithas Wyddonol Cylch Caerdydd
4pm – Urdd Centre Classroom
Entry FREE – Call 029 2087 6935 or email publicbookings@cardiff.ac.uk to book.
Bydd y siaradwr yn tynnu ar atgofion plentyndod i gyfeirio at E.G.Bowen, arloesydd radar mewn awyren. Disgrifir eraill sydd wedi cyfrannu at ddiwylliant gwyddoniaeth cyfoethog Cymru, yn bennaf dros yr hanner canmlynedd diwethaf. I orffen bydd awgrym ynghylch newid ein Hanthem Genedlaethol.
Neville Evans gives a talk in Welsh about Welsh scientists from history. The speaker will draw on boyhood memories to refer to the ‘Father of Airborne Radar’ - E.G.Bowen. Descriptions will also be given of others who have contributed, mostly over the last fifty years, to the rich science culture of Wales. He will close with a suggestion for changing our National Anthem.
So Random
4pm – Norwegian Church 
Entry FREE – no booking required.
Jon Holt presents a whirlwind tour of the world of mathematics for science, engineering and pseudo-scientific nonsense. Join Jon as he explores some of the reasons why science and engineering are perceived as dull ‘spanners-and-oily-rags’ professions. Learn how mathematics is hijacked to give fake credence to the flim-flammery of pseudo-science as he predicts the audience’s thoughts, provides life guidance based on birthdays and demonstrates how random thoughts can be predicted in multi-dimensional display of mathematical curiosity.
Jon is a Professor of Systems Engineering at Cranfield University and the Global Head of Systems Engineering for Atego Systems. When he is not engineering Jon is also an accomplished magician and mind-reader! ‘it’s like Derren Brown teaching maths!’ ‘Derren Brown meets Brian Cox – on steroids. Be entertained, educated and amazed and all this from a professor and Global Head of Systems Engineering’ Alan Watts, Vice President IET
SciEnts presents: Rock Guitar in 11 Dimensions
5pm – Techniquest
Entry £3.00 – Call 029 2047 5476 to book your ticket.
What causes the revolutionary, history-changing sound of rock guitar, and how does it help us to understand the nature of the stuff we’re made of? Famelab winner Mark Lewney explains the physics of rock using riffs from Vivaldi to AC/DC, explains the secret of the Stradivarius, and shows how string vibrations might lie at the heart of the Big Questions about the universe. Age 11+
Institute of Physics presents:
Does Antimatter Matter?
5:30pm – Urdd Centre Classroom
Entry FREE – Call 029 2087 6935 
or email publicbookings@cardiff.ac.uk to book.
Professor Michael Charlton (Physics Department, College of Science, Swansea University, Swansea, U.K.) Antimatter was discovered in the 1930s and since then positrons have found numerous applications in atomic and materials science, engineering and medicine. Recently, physicists working at CERN have learnt how to create and capture atoms of anti-hydrogen. A few of these anti-atoms have been held for periods longer than 15 minutes. The talk will cover the history of antimatter, why the positron is so useful, the current experiments, and the motivation for undertaking these experiments. The latter will involve one of nature’s great conundrums: the absence of bulk antimatter in the current epoch of the Universe.
Bright Club: Bodies
Doors open at 7pm – Grosvenor G Casino
Entry £5.00 – Call 029 2087 6935 or email publicbookings@cardiff.ac.uk for more information
Sponsored by the Physiological Society, a special Bright Club looking at all things Bodies related for Cardiff Science Festival. Please note that this is over 18s only and valid photo ID (passport or driving licence) is required on your first visit to the Casino.
HackSpace Open Day
Sat/Sun 10am-5pm – Hackspace, Cardiff
Entry FREE – no booking required
Hackspace Cardiff open their doors for the weekend with a selection of demonstrations, tours and talks.
Lightship Open Day
Sat/Sun 10am-5pm – Lightship, Cardiff Bay
Entry FREE – no booking required
The lightship open its doors for the weekend for guided tours of the ship and engine rooms. Tours take place at 2pm and 4pm.
Techniquest Exhibits at The Red Dragon Centre Exhibition
Sat/Sun 12pm-5pm – The Red Dragon Centre
Entry FREE – no booking required
A range of science-related exhibits and stands will be on display throughout the weekend at the Red Dragon Centre.
Science Exhibition
Sat/Sun 10am-5pm – Urdd Centre Hall
Entry FREE – no booking required
A range of science related exhibits and stands will be on display throughout the weekend in the Urdd Centre Hall:
- MASSIVE DYNAMIC; Exploring and Recreating Cutting Edge Neuroscience
Project created by The Artist, Penelope Rose Cowley. www.massivedynamicart.com - Explore the Universe
- Technocamps
- Quantum Workshop
- STEMNet
- British Science Association
Science of Sport
Sat/Sun 10am-5pm – Techniquest
Usual admission prices – no booking required
Techniquest launch their summer theme to tie in with a summer of sport and Cardiff Science Festival.
Science Busking
Our science buskers will be on hand with amazing science across Mermaid Quay all weekend.
Our science buskers will be on hand with amazing science across Mermaid Quay all weekend.