London events for people with curious minds.
Tuesday 28 June
ALIENS: The British Library continues its excellent programme of events to tie in with the current science fiction exhibition. Tonight, a panel comprising Gareth Edwards, Gwyneth Jones, Mark Pilkington, Jack Cohen, Ian Stewart and David Clarke discuss aliens in the popular imagination. £7.50/£5, 6.30pm
Wednesday 29 June
ALT.HISTORY: Back at the British Library, celeb historian Niall Ferguson raises a few 'what ifs'. What if the Nazis had won, what if JFK hadn't been assassinated. That kind of thing. Catch him speculating tonight, or forever wonder what might have been. £7.50/£5, 6.30pm
SCIENCE: It's the last Wednesday of the month, which means it's late night opening at the Science Museum. This month's theme is climate change. Expect booze, live performance and no children. FREE, 6.45-10pm
MEETUP: A monthly gathering of (mostly) tech geeks is on the cards. You'll have to join their Meetup.com group to find out where. Tonight's theme is mobile devices and how they might 'augment' your life. FREE, 7pm
Thursday 30 June
AGEING: The Rasputin-bearded Aubrey de Grey is at the Royal Institution to talk about efforts to slow or 'cure' the ageing process. £10/£7, 7pm
ART: Professor Robin Clark of UCL reveals how spectroscopy and other forms of analysis are revealing the secrets of ancient works of art. This UCL lunchtime lecture is 'on tour' at the British Museum. FREE but prebook, 1.15pm
FILM: The Grant Museum tonight screens The Lost World, a 1960 adaptation of Conan Doyle's dinosaur yarn. Following the film (which takes place in UCL's Darwin lecture theatre), you can have a look round the museum with a free glass of wine. FREE, 6.30pm
HEALTH: Wellcome Collection continues its obsession of all things dirty by looking at modern cleanliness and its possible consequences on our health. FREE, 7pm
Sunday 3 July
ENGINEERING: It's the monthly opening of the Kirkaldy Testing Museum on Southwark Street. This small workshop-cum-museum educates about the importance of testing materials in engineering projects. A seemingly niche profession that stops us dying every time we cross a bridge or use a lift. FREE, 11am-3pm
We can only include events we've heard about. Obviously. So if you know of something that'd fit right in with these listings, let us know in the comments or by emailing matt - at - londonist.com
