London events for people with curious minds.
Monday 28 May
SOCIETY: What's the point of mates? Why do we socialise? Professor Neil Macrae hosts a Cafe Scientifique at the Royal Society to ponder friendships. FREE, 6.30pm
Tuesday 29 May
ARCHITECTURE: It's the last Tuesday of the month, which means open evening at RIBA, the architecture organisation on Portland Place. Tonight's event offers talks and entertainment with a Jubilee theme. FREE, 6-10pm
PARTICLES: Another chance to learn about the work of the Large Hadron Collider, the potentially game-changing particle accelerator, from CERN's Director General, Rolf-Dieter Heuer. FREE, 6.30pm
PUB GAEMS: Join the Thinking Bob meetup group for an evening of giant Jenga, Connect 4 and a Playstation tournament at the Devereux pub near Strand. £5, 7pm
AI: Or join the Cosy Science crew at the Exmouth Arms for an evening's discussion about artificial intelligence. Dr Emma Byrne leads the event, with a profile of the work of Alan Turing and those who came after. FREE, 7pm
BRAINS: A group of speakers at the Dana Centre in South Kensington discuss new methods for imaging brains, especially ways to spot damaged brains in small babies. FREE, 7pm
Wednesday 30 May
REMEMBER?: The Royal Society's talk tonight looks at the physiological basis for memories, with Prof Tim Bliss. FREE, 6.30pm
BOOKS: Another chance to catch Mark Henderson touting his new book The Geek Manifesto, at Waterstones Gower Street. £3, 6.30pm
LATES: It's the final Wednesday of the month, which means late opening at the Science Museum. This month's theme is music and science. FREE, 6.45pm
AIDS: Quentin Cooper and guests discuss the history of Aids and the current outlook for those who have it, at Wellcome Collection. FREE, 7pm
THE LOST LECTURES: Another reminder that the ever-excellent The Lost Lectures run tonight and tomorrow at a mystery London venue. A quickfire line-up of speakers covers everything from science to sex to tree climbing. Highly recommended. Ticket price varies, 7.30pm
Thursday 31 May
BOOKS: Learn how to enjoy books through smell, touch and even taste in a peculiar talk at Wellcome Library. FREE, 7pm
GAMES: The final talk in the excellent Played in London series examines the pub games of London, from darts to skittles. It's at Clerkenwell's The Gallery, which also includes a good exhibition about sports in the capital. £8/£6, 7pm (but go earlier to see the exhibition)
OBJECTS: In an odd pairing, a puppeteer and a neuroscientist discuss how we anthropomorphise moving objects, either on the stage or in everyday life. FREE, 7pm
CLIMATE CHANGE: Artists and scientists come together at Banner Repeater (an art space on Platform 1 of Hackney Downs station) to discuss the Anthropocene, an informal geological epoch marked by significant human influence on the planet (i.e. everything since the Industrial Revolution). The talk supports an exhibition by artist Gabo Guzzo on the same subject. FREE, 7pm
GEEK FUN: A 'theatrical wonderland of scientific exploration' is promised at the Enlightenment Cafe, a must-visit evening in the depths of the Old Vic Tunnels. A somewhat anachronistic programme offers plenty of Victorian diversions in a series of 'laboratories and dens', plus sets from an impressive line-up of brainy entertainers. The spectacle can be visited tonight through Sunday. £16.55, 7pm
WEIRD FISHY STUFF: Join the London Fortean Society upstairs at The Bell (Spitalfields) where Londonist friends Paolo Viscardi (Horniman Museum) and Ross MacFarlane will discuss the history of mermaids, including tales/tails of fakery and scientific probing. £3/£2, 7.30pm
Friday 1 June
HISTORY OF SCIENCE: To accompany its new exhibition about Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens, the Foundling Museum puts on a talk about the science and technology that underpinned the Georgian attraction. £10, 7pm
Booking Ahead
ADULTS-ONLY DINOSAURS: Spend the whole night in the Natural History Museum without any children. The first ever Dino Snores for Grown-ups (9 June) includes dinner and breakfast, sleeping under a dinosaur, all-night screenings of horror films involving animals and plenty more besides. £175, 7.30pm-9.30am
