FEATURE SCIENCE FESTIVAL
AS OW-OF-THIS-WORLD assignments g0. Dr Colin Mclnnes‘s mission is pretty impressive: launching Space Station Alpha. the largest ever space station. into orbit. Mclnnes heads one of the UK's only space systems research groups (at the Department of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Glasgow) and is part of an international team of scientists from the US. Russia. Europe and Japan. Assembly of Alpha starts next year and it is scheduled to be completed in 2002 when it will be home to scientists and astronauts working in its laboratories for the participating countries. Before then. Mclnnes give a talk at the Science Festival using computer animation to give a sneak preview of Alpha. More importantly. given the funding problems which recently beset the European end of the project. Mclnnes will be discussing the various uses for the space station —— from creating ultra-pure pharmaceuticals to carrying out research into human physiology. (Thom Dibdin)
International Space Station Alp/1a, Royal Museum ofScotland, Chambers Street. Sun 7 Apr; 2pm. I
ECCEIITRIC BOFFIIIS, absent- minded protessors, mad obsessives - the public perception oi scientists isn’t always complimentary. So ‘ what really lies behind images as wide-ranging as Baron Frankenstein and ., Doctor Who? What is it about the men and women in the lab coats that makes the rest of the world regard them with suspicion? Or are they all, like . Albert Einstein in that tamous photo, sticking their tongue out at those less in the know? From Einstein To Frankenstein: Public Images Of Science, Royal
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Museum 0! Scotland, Thurs 11, 7.30pm.
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70 The List 5-!8 Apr 1996
IT’S A CLASSIC kids fantasy: being lost in the wilderness with only your wits to save you. Would you - indeed, could you - survive? One person who’d certainly do better than most is Ian Darwin Edwards oi the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh. He has spent time studying the way that Aboriginals in Australia used the bush to provide all their needs. ‘Until ZOO years ago, there was never any kind of agriculture in the whole of Australia,’ he says. ‘Everything the Aboriginals ate, everything they wore, everything they used to cure themselves of illness, all came directly off the land without growing anything in the way of cultivation.’ Luckily for those who wish to share those skills, the Botanics has a collection of over SOD plants from Australia. Darwin Edwards will be demonstrating which at those are edible and how to use them for everything from catching a parrot to making a retreshing, tizzy cordial drink. (Thom Dibdin) Bush Tucker, Royal Botanic Garden Exhibition Hall, Inverleith Bow, Tue 16 Apr, 113m.
BOOKING INFORMATION Box Office: 0131 220 6220
Advance ticket sales and general information about the Edinburgh International Science Festival already available by telephone or post at 149 Rose Street, Edinburgh, ER2 418. The box office will be open to the public tor counter sales every day until Tuesday 16 April at the Royal Museum of Scotland in Chambers Street, 10am-5pm (Mon—Sat); noon-5pm (Suns).
Tickets for lectures will be on sale at each venue 30 minutes prior to an event starting, providing it has not sold out. Concessions are available to pensioners, the unemployed and students, unless otherwise stated.
I Assembly Rooms 50 George Street. Until 5 Apr. 10am—5pm. The hands-on exhibits ofthe Princes Street Gardens Discovery Dome relocate to the Assemny Rooms alongside the Science Assembly Exhibition and a display of Jurassic Park— style dinosaur eggs.
I Adam House Chambers Street. Until 14 Apr. 10am—5pm. Plenty of hands-on activities in the ‘Science Works' venue. which also houses the Sci-Fun Roadshow. MadLab and the Science Shop. Entry is free. although most workshops carry a small charge.
I Old College South Bridge. Until 16 Apr. The University of Edinburgh's ()ld College lecture theatres and Senate room play host to a variety oftalks and events throughout the Festival.
I Royal Museum of Scotland Chambers Street. Until l4 Apr. The Festival’s Education Centre is the focus for half-day and full-day children's workshops. lt's also home to the Science Playcentre for 3—(i-year-olds.
I Royal Botanic Garden lnvcrleith Row. Until lb Apr. As well as the ongoing ‘bioSClENCE in Scotland' hands-on exhibition and the wonderful array of plants on permanent display. the Garden is the centre for many of the Festival's nattire-orientated events.
I Science Dome West Princes Street Gardens. Until H) May. Illam—Spm. Have ‘Megafun With Computers' at this large interactive show which demonstrates the many uses of computers and lets you take control. Manipulate a mouse with a giant joystick or rival Madonna as youstar in your own MTV video.
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I Here Is The Weather Forecast At last lleatber Reid can tell her audience something other than when the next drizzle is expected. as she takes time off from the BBC and the Met Office in
' Glasgow to take us behind the scenes in
the world of weather forecasting. Royal .‘llusetmr o/‘SeoI/aml. Sat (i. ll). l5am.
I svessed Out And Sick Sports injuries
are one thing in the world of Scottish football. but is the players' game affected by stress‘.’ And does that explain French karate kicks into the crowd? ()lrl College Lee/are Theatre /. Sal 6. 2pm.
I The Iceman An international team based at the University of Amsterdam is studying the clothing. equipment and ancfacts found on the 5()()()—year-old — but well preserved — ‘lceman‘. opening up some secrets from the past. Royal rl/Iuseum o/‘SeoI/aiul. Mon 8. 6pm.