The fourth day of the British Science Festival offered a jam-packed schedule: more talks and drop-in sessions at Bluecoat, the first events of the Festival at the Black-E and experiences including a one-of-a-kind walking tour and a dance performance.
The Bistro at Bluecoat was host to interactive stalls looking at science from a plethora of angles on Saturday afternoon.
What the phage?!, run by experts from the Department of Clinical Infection, Microbiology and Immunology and the Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences at the University of Liverpool (UoL) with colleagues from the University of Salford, introduced visitors to phages (viruses that infect and kill bacteria). Phages, the displays explained, can be used to treat conditions such as cystic fibrosis.
This session included a chance to use VR technology to experience travelling into a human lung, and watching how phages work to infect bacteria at close range – talk about getting up close and personal.
Around the corner in the Bistro was Convergence: exploring the art in science, a unique art exhibition that explored, among other topics, how cancer grows in the brain, represented by artist Anna Roberts as a weed sprouting from a brain. This piece was inspired by Anna’s mother’s diagnosis with glioblastoma, an aggressive cancer.
A walk further through the Bistro took festival goers to Microbe City, where visitors could build microbes from special building blocks and use a scanner to see if they’re washing their hands correctly (don’t forget the back of your hands!).
On Saturday, as well as hosting events, Bluecoat was the starting point for a walking tour like no other, Geophonic: a rock and walk performance. Participants were led by a performance group, including Artistic Director Lorna Rees, on a folk ritual for the rock cycle.
Each person was given a brightly coloured geophone to allow them to hear the geological processes of the Earth along 12 stops through the city centre. The group performed songs and dance pieces, embodying different types of rock to tell their abstract narrative.
The walking tour ended at Mann Island with a joyous dance to a rave remix of Standing on Shakey Ground by The Temptations, which evoked hope and caution about protecting the planet at the same time.
The Black-E, an arts and community centre next to Liverpool’s Chinatown, hosted events throughout the day and stretching into the evening.
There were workshops including Bee creative: make candles and seed bombs, and thought provoking talks including Gut feeling: how new weight loss drugs work with Gile Yeo from the University of Cambridge and Jonathan Pettitt from The Genetics Society, discussing one of our society’s most talked about issues.
In the evening, Tilly Lockey, advocate, amputee and TV and social media personality, gave a truly inspiring talk, Bionically beautiful.
Tilly contracted meningococcal septicaemia at 15 months old, which resulted in her having both hands amputated to save her life. But her talk isn’t about this experience, it’s about how Tilly has thrived ever since.
Not one to be beaten by adversity, Tilly has become a vocal advocate for amputees, and has worked with medical device company Open Bionics from a young age to help design prosthetics that enhance users’ lives and make them feel good.
Tilly told the audience she had had experiences with lots of prosthetics companies during her life, and the team at Open Bionics was the first to ask her ‘What do you want?’. What do you want your prosthetics to look like, what do you want them to do for you.
Blending in and looking like everyone else is not, Tilly said, the priority for a lot of amputees, contrary to popular belief. She found the realistic looking prosthetics uncanny and prefers the sleek, futurist designs she has worked with Open Bionics on.
Tilly sat down with Holly Ellis AKA The Scouse Scientist for a short Q&A during which they discussed Tilly’s hopes and campaign for advanced prosthetics to be more available on the NHS.
Read blogs covering other days of the Festival here: