London events for people with curious minds.
A slightly foreshortened selection this week, thanks to the Jubilee, but still plenty to see. Anyone catch the transit of Venus this morning?
Wednesday 6 June
SLEEP TALKING: Bring your sarnies, and possibly a pillow, to a lunch-time talk at Wellcome Collection about sleep apnoea, an irregular breathing condition that affects 1 in 25 sleeping adults. FREE, 1pm
ATHEISM: London School of Economics presents an evening discussion about atheism in the Enlightenment. FREE, 6.30pm
TRIVIA WALK: Join Mark Mason (and, indeed Londonist editor [email protected]'ll be along tonight) for a stroll along the Piccadilly Line between Green Park and Holborn, above ground, of course. Mark's the chap who walked every Tube line from start to finish for the book Walk The Lines, and he also has a veritable pantry of tasty London trivia. £8/£6, 7.30pm
SENSE AND SENSIBILITY: The 20th Salon event takes place at University Women's Club in Mayfair themed around the sensual. Speakers are drawn from the worlds of science, art and psychology to talk about the art of seduction, the perception of time and our under-used sense of smell (courtesy of the wonderfully named Odette Toilette). £12, 7.30pm
Thursday 7 June
SUB-AQUA: The Peter Harrison Planetarium in Greenwich turns its focus from the frontiers of space to the ocean depths, with a video installation on coral reefs. The show by Lynette Wallworth and called Coral: Rekindling Venus is inspired by Captain Cook's voyage to the South Seas to observe the transit of Venus. Part of the Cultural Olympiad. £6.50/£4.50, 5pm Thur-Sun until 6 July
SPORT SCIENCE: Meet a Paralympic athlete and learn about the fusion of sporting prowess and technology at Wellcome Collection's late opening. FREE, 7pm
APOCALYPSE: The Post-Apocalyptic Book Club sound like a barrel of laughs. They've teamed up with Waterstones Piccadilly for a panel discussion about dystopian fiction. Go along, if it's the last thing you ever do. £3, 7pm
OLYMPIC STUFF: The Games they are a-coming; but they've been here twice before. Get a primer on London's past and present Olympic involvement via a panel talk at the ever-excellent Bishopsgate Institute (check out this for an upcoming programme). £8/£6, 7.30pm
Saturday 9 June
BRAINY WALKS: Take a tour of Bloomsbury and learn about the area's connections with the study of brains. FREE, 11am
KNITTY SCIENCE: Learn about the secret mathematics and science of the clothes you wear, in a family fun day at the Royal Institution. £10, 11am-4pm
Sunday 10 June
BRAINY WALKS: Another chance to take a tour of Bloomsbury and learn about the area's connections with the study of brains. FREE, 11am
