Your weekly roundup of science, technology and general geekery in London. Events for people with curious minds.
Tuesday 31 May
LEGO: The Science Museum is onto a cracking wheeze. From today until 2 June, the museum is inviting visitors to 'build a big idea with LEGO'. Construct any invention you like and they'll integrate it into a display. Triple-headed, multicolour vibrator it is, then. FREE
MOL BOL: Molecular Biology is one of the more overlooked sciences in the public sphere. Great, then, to see a lecture by John Ellis at the Royal Society on molecular chaperones, proteins that help correctly assemble and fold the structures of the cell. FREE, 6.30pm
Wednesday 1 June
FILM: The Bigger Boat Film Quiz returns to The Boogaloo in Highgate. Test your movie knowledge in this impressive multimedia quiz. £3, 7.30pm
ENERGY: Following the Fukushima incident in Japan, what is the future of the nuclear industry? A panel of academics discuss the pros and cons of nuclear power at the Dana Centre. FREE but prebook, 7pm
Thursday 2 June
FUTUROLOGY: Intelligence Squared debates are always worth a look, with highbrow back-and-forths between some of the world's best brains. Tonight's event sees a selection of academics from Oxford Martin School gather at the Royal Geographical Society to discuss nothing less than the future of humanity and the planet. £15/£5, 6.45pm
TECH: "Thirty years ago we asked what we would use computers for − now the question is what we don’t use them for." Thus is billed a talk tonight at LSE looking at whether we're becoming more isolated, more alone thanks to the internet. Guess we can judge the answer by how many people turn up. FREE, 6.30pm, just turn up
DIRT: Wellcome Collection's excellent current exhibition about the grimy today includes a tie-in with Radio 4's Thinking Allowed programme. In a live event, host Laurie Taylor talks to Adam Kuper, Martin Rowson and Amanda Vickery about the 'social meaning of dirt, filth, rubbish and hygiene. FREE but book in advance, 7.30pm
Friday 3 June
FUTUROLOGY: An intriguing event at the British Library, to tie in with their sci-fi exhibition, looks at humanity's dreams of flight from the days before it was possible. £6/£4, 1pm
TECH: More tech-sociology at the British Library as a panel of techsperts discuss whether we're becoming too reliant on our gadgets. £7/£5, 6.30pm
Saturday 4 June
KIDS: The Royal Institution have a themed family fun day all about forensics. £10/£5, 11am-4pm
CRYPTOZOOLOGY: Paolo Viscardi of the Horniman Museum is at Hall Place, Bexley to talk about fake mermen. Yup, fishy humanoids fudged together by confidence tricksters. FREE, 12 noon
Booking Ahead
COMEDY: Tickets are selling fast for the Festival Of The Spoken Nerd residency at the New Red Lion on City Road (13 June). Book now to see Matt Parker, Helen Arney and Steve Mould put on an evening of sci-cabaret. £6, 8pm
SUMMER SCI: The line-up for the Royal Society's Summer Science exhibition has been announced. Last year, you may remember they took over the Southbank Centre with Pterodactyls and flying penguins. This year, they're back at their Carlton House Terrace base, but the science should be equally fascinating. @summerscience
London Science Apps
A couple of phone apps were recently released to help you discover the city's scientific highlights. Science Uncovered comes from the Institute of Physics in collaboration with the Museum of London and is available for iPhone and Android. Four Eyes Up London, meanwhile, is an independent app for iPhone. Despite its baffling name, the app is a treasure trove of peculiar facts about science in London, many of which were new to us.
Image by mknowles under creative commons licence.
