Head of Demonstrations at the Royal Institution. Presenting, writing, training, building, and even enjoying Science Communication.
Joined September 2011
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One last show before my work on @Ri_Science #XmasLectures really kicks off.
I'll be at #NewScientistLive looking at the stories behind some incredible discoveries, not all of which were on purpose! invt.io/1txbtkeabp1
That's it for this year's #XmasLectures. Lots of people do lots of work to make them happen, but here are the ones who brought the demos to the screen!
Front row left to right: Affelia, Yasmin, Mike, Georgia.
Back row left to right: Tom, LFT, Me.
See you next year!
Not in the picture, but also key to many of the demos are @bndornan, @petergallivan, Charlotte, and my Mum and Dad.
I'm sure many more who I have forgotten.
Thanks everyone, I hope you've enjoyed your well earned break!
After all the work, all the mess, and all the fun, here sits 3 lectures worth of props, all waiting for us to find them a home somewhere in the @Ri_Science building.
#XmasLectures
ALT A huge pile of random props. A vault door, a washing machine, giant syringes, cardboard boxes, a huge nose, and DNA bases.
Here are the llamas waiting, very patiently, for their big moment.
#XmasLectures
ALT Two llamas stand next to a victorian lift, awaiting their stage call into the theatre
As we wheeled @kim_judge_'s sequencers on, Tom and I literally pulled the plug and we all had to wait a few minutes while they resequenced some deactivated coronavirus. Incredible that it only takes minutes, but I'm sure it felt like a lifetime. Sorry Kim!
#XmasLectures
ALT A genome sequencer is shown on the large screen in the Ri theatre, as it sequences coronavirus
Can't imagine why the pyros would've set off the smoke detectors in rehearsals?!
#XmasLectures
ALT Stage lights shine through clouds of smoke
The volume may not have come across on screen, but this was loud! Being able to rig a pyrotechnic effect like this is a real dream for me, and a treat for all the senses! And great photo timing by @PWilkinsonPhoto
#XmasLectures
ALT Sparks and plumes of smoke rise from the stage as an audience of young people watch the Christmas Lectures
Our poor technicians, Yasmin and Georgia, winced every time JVT dropped that washing machine. They put a lot of work into it!
@Ri_Science #XmasLectures
Live from the cell, @petergallivan is wearing a red tassled satin labcoat, made by the House of Plane, accessorised with a lasercut red felt bandit mask and a black ffp2 face mask.
(Really lifted by his performance as the virus, I'm sure you'll agree)
#XmasLectures
ALT A man wears a shiny red jacket and red bandit mask, he is playing a 'virus' and is celebrating infecting a cell by throwing red confetti
The giant vaccine syringes were made quite last minute, only started the night before filming, and were very delicate. @AffeliaW is having to hold them very carefully. And truth be told, that one filmed take is the first and only time all three performed perfectly!
#XmasLectures
ALT Giant syringes stand upright on a table. Two are labelled with Diptheria and Measles
During rehearsals we packed the nostril with cornflour to create a good puff of dust. But having white powder blown up the nose needed a rethink. So that was actually a cloud of cocoa powder going in that nose. #XmasLectures
ALT A child blows bellows up the nostril of a giant cross section of a human nose
For the first of the ancient vaccine techniques we used these bellows, adorned with 藥, the Traditional Chinese character for Medicine, what with it being an ancient Chinese discovery.
@Ri_Science #XmasLectures
The @Ri_Science #XmasLectures start on BBC4 in 1 hour (8pm).
And about one hour before filming, during the last dress rehearsal, I may have caused an evacuation! No actual emergency, just a disagreement between me, my pyrotechnics, and the smoke detectors.
ALT A crowd of people stand on the pavement and in the road having evacuated the Royal Institution building
Last @Ri_Science #XmasLectures secret for tonight: A demo about the wisdom of crowds, involving guessing how many balls were in a container, was cut. Largely because the person who got the closest answer was an Ri staff member. And their guess was absolutely correct! 🤨
The giant Party Popper got a great reaction, and surprised enough kids into setting off theirs early that we had to dish out more.
You're only seeing a small portion of the party popper chaos on screen!
What a mess we made!
#XmasLectures
The incredibly elegant SIR model demo is all Julia Gog's. We tweaked it into a lucky dip game so volunteers could be involved. And we learnt a little about how the @Ri_Science lasercutter handles felt!
#XmasLectures
Here's another bit of 10m sewing my mum did!
10.24m, to be specific.
I'm operating the drill that winds it up to the ceiling. So high tech!
Here's what all the ribbon looks like in a bundle
#XmasLectures
I think our faces really tell the story of our success with making an electrostatic net!
Tom and @danplane did a lot of testing to get the Van de Graff generator demo to work. In the end, the most simple method worked #XmasLectures
While half the team are looking after this ventilation demo, the other half are clearing up JVT's Boston Utd themed balls!
#XmasLectures @Ri_Science
