On Monday the 23rd of November, a rag tag group of Year 11 HDHS students made their way to London to attend a Science Discovered lecture starring Professor Brian Cox. After what seemed like years winding their way through the heart of London, the mini buses finally reached the drop off point near Piccadilly Circus. A quick pit-stop was made before heading to the Piccadilly Theatre for the main event. The first speaker was Simon Watt (of Channel 4’s Inside Nature’s Giants) …who informed the crowd that they were all mutants. Through a series of demonstrations and crowd participation, he went on to show what DNA is made of, how mutations occur and their consequences. Next up was Professor Andrea Sella, a chemist from University College London who spoke of the complexities of ice and its strange behaviour. After a short interval, Professor Brian Cox came on to a huge cheer (and whistles) from the audience. He spoke about order in the universe, his research at Cern, quantum physics and answered questions from the audience about astrobiology – a generally new field of study looking into the possibility of life on other planets. All students received a study pack with ideas about the presenters, the topics they spoke about and job opportunities in science as well as a signed photograph of Prof. Brian Cox to put on their mantle pieces.
