Cambridge Science Festival kicks off

Speaking at the Festival are some of Britain’s pre-eminent scientists, lecturers and public speakers. New to the festival this year is the fringe including hot topics like ‘the science of sex’ and ‘so you think you can dance science!’. CBBC presenters Huw James, Greg Foot and Stefan Gates will also be on hand to host kid-friendly lectures and demonstrations.

A series of exciting events will take place across the city with highlights including the science of wine, the mathematics of jazz and a discussion about the scope of plastic surgery chaired by four experts in the field called ‘Enhancement: how far do we go?’.

Jamie Shotton and Chris Bishop from Microsoft Research will be speaking about the science behind Kinect for Xbox.

Other talks include - Stem cells: current treatments and potential therapies; Cambridge academic Stephen O’Rahilly speaking on the subject ‘Why are we not all fat?’ and a drop-in ‘Chemistry Zone’ session featuring hand-on activities, demonstrations and games with students and researchers from the department of Chemistry.

Participants can build their own astrolabe - a medieval instrument for measuring and calculating the positions of the sun and the stars and take part in a rocket car derby at two of the drop-in events happening across the city.

The festival runs at venues across Cambridge from Monday 14th March to Sunday 27th March inclusive. Most events are free and some require pre-booking.

Shelley Bolderson, Festivals and Outreach Officer, said: “The 2011 festival has a broad ranging and exciting programme which promises to deliver an interesting and educational two weeks’ of events for people in Cambridge.

“Highlights this year include the fringe, exploring topics from the science of sex to so you think you can dance science.”