Natalie Kay-Thatcher and Jennifer Crouch (Jiggling Atoms)

TALK (11:00-12:30)
Most of our everyday life is invisible: The air we breathe, gravity, electricity, radio waves, the calculations done by your computer. How these invisible things work can only be understood through their effects, which scientists seek to describe through experiments and simulations. Our talk will explore some of the historical imagery that accompanies our descriptions of nature, and how our metaphorical description in the language of physics helps us to grasp its complexity. From moving image, interactive art, books, objects, effigies and prints, public exhibitions, participatory workshops, public discussions, and debates – we will discuss how these different visual or expressive modes operate in terms of learning and understanding. We will also describe our practice and how we operate as a collective, explaining our approach to public engagement, collaboration and education in science and art, the need for inclusive, fun projects and how this can empower learners of all kinds.

WORKSHOP: Alien Civilisations (13:00-14:30)
Join Jiggling Atoms in an exploration of exoplanets, where you will create ‘biologically feasible’ alien beings and consider how your science fiction world could be self-consistent in accordance with our understanding of the natural world. We explore the physical nature of a collection of exoplanets discovered by Kepler and speculate as to what kind of life forms or civilizations could inhabit these other worlds. With a science fiction expert and anatomical artist at hand to guide you, your creation will result in an artifact such as a drawing, sculpture, costume or mask.

Additional information:

Jiggling Atoms explore the wonders of physics with an emphasis on learning, dialogue, knowledge exchange,and collaboration. They seek to create and nurture a positive, fun relationship with learning about science and developing creative skills. For more information about Jiggling Atoms: http://cargocollective.com/jigglingatoms.

Event home page:

http://bit.ly/2fjO2Qu