Our program has officially begun! First up was a visit to the Royal Institution, a science institution established in 1799 with the goal of educating the public about technology and science.
We were met by Frank James, Professor of the History of Science and Head of Collections, who kindly guided us around the facility while telling us about many important scientists whose achievements shaped history. Through his detailed descriptions, he brought to life many of the achievements made by members of the institution.
The goal of the Royal Institution is to make science accessible to all people and to demonstrate new technologies. They do this today by offering tours to many kids groups both in the institute and in classrooms. The Institution has a beautiful museum of artifacts and images on the first few floors, along with a lecture hall that has been used by many important scientists to announce discoveries and to hold debates. What is notable is the incredible restoration of the rooms. Every detail has been attended to, right down to colour matching the paint to ensure they use identical and historically accurate shades.
We next went into the Royal Institution's basement where they have more interactive materials for children's groups and incredible physical materials on display. The thing I, and probably the majority of people everywhere, found most entertaining was their singing periodic table of the elements display. Whenever an element that was discovered by a member of the Institution is sung it lights up and in a sort of whack a mole game you're encouraged to locate it and tap it before the song moves on.
Frank James was a great guide. He wove together history and science using the artifacts as physical examples. He is a historian of science, and he stated that his goal is to tell truth through science. While the Institution used to be a place of modern discovery and scientific research, today, the role of the institution is to preserve the history of science and to engage the public. They have a great website with many digitized documents and a great social media presence.
We were met by Frank James, Professor of the History of Science and Head of Collections, who kindly guided us around the facility while telling us about many important scientists whose achievements shaped history. Through his detailed descriptions, he brought to life many of the achievements made by members of the institution.
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| Frank James is such an esteemed member of the Institution that a painting of him is displayed! |
The goal of the Royal Institution is to make science accessible to all people and to demonstrate new technologies. They do this today by offering tours to many kids groups both in the institute and in classrooms. The Institution has a beautiful museum of artifacts and images on the first few floors, along with a lecture hall that has been used by many important scientists to announce discoveries and to hold debates. What is notable is the incredible restoration of the rooms. Every detail has been attended to, right down to colour matching the paint to ensure they use identical and historically accurate shades.
We next went into the Royal Institution's basement where they have more interactive materials for children's groups and incredible physical materials on display. The thing I, and probably the majority of people everywhere, found most entertaining was their singing periodic table of the elements display. Whenever an element that was discovered by a member of the Institution is sung it lights up and in a sort of whack a mole game you're encouraged to locate it and tap it before the song moves on.
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