London events for people with curious minds.
Monday 11 March
HISTORY: The Gordon Riots, which swept London in 1780, are the subject of this afternoon's Gresham lecture at the Museum of London. Free, just turn up, 1pm
BOOKS: Fiction Lab, a monthly book club at The Royal Institution, is dedicated to great fiction books with a science theme. Up for discussion today is Lone Wolf by Jodi Picoult. Free, just turn up, 7pm
TINY MACHINES: David Leigh lectures at The Royal Society, on the recent development of tiny man-made machines and motors that could impact on every aspect of material design. Free, just turn up, 6.30pm
Tuesday 12 March
MATERIAL WORLD: Join Mark Miodownik at UCL's Darwin Building for a lunchtime talk on how the line between living and non-living is blurring with the advancement of bionic people and living buildings. Free, just turn up, 1.15pm
LOOKING FORWARD: Explore what the cities of the future might offer and what will shape them, with an evening of activities, discussions and screenings. Led by Helene Joffe and Nick Smith from UCL, at the Dana Centre. Free, prebook, 7pm
Wednesday 13 March
LOST EMOTIONS: Are there emotional states from other cultures or periods of history that we just don't experience anymore? The Carnival of Lost Emotions at Bart's Pathology Museum, Smithfield thinks so, with an evening of talks and demonstrations put on by Queen Mary University of London as part of Brain Awareness Week. One emotion you might feel, though, is frustration, as it's waiting list only for tickets. Free, prebook, 6pm
TUBE: Hear about the ongoing Tube upgrade programme, at the Institution of Engineering and Technology. Free, prebook, 6.30pm
SUSTAINABILITY: At The Royal Institution, Tony Ryan and Steve McKevitt show how cutting-edge science can use the sun to provide food and energy for the global population, eliminating the need for coal, oil and gas. £10/£7, prebook, 7pm
FUTURE HUMAN: This month's Future Human discussion, downstairs in the Book Club, looks at how wearable technology and data gathering might soon supplant self help books. Gotta confess, it's an angle we'd never thought of. £10, prebook, 7pm
MEDICINE: This month's Cosy Science salon returns to the Cittie of Yorke in Holborn, for a discussion about the evolution of cancer. Free drinks and nibbles courtesy of the Company of Biologists. Free, just turn up, 7pm
BRAINS: The Dana Centre explores the nature of the human brain alongside the technological and ethical considerations when a patient is in a persistent vegetative state (PVS). Free, prebook, 7pm
Thursday 14 March
ANAESTHESIA: Discover what happens to you when you are under anaesthetic and how anaesthetists manage to keep you alive and pain free, ideally both at the same time. At the Dana Centre. Free, prebook, 7pm
BREAKING THE HABIT: Pop along to this lunchtime lecture at UCL's Darwin Building to discover why people continue to smoke, and what has been learnt from 50 years of research into the habit. Free, just turn up, 1.15pm
DRUGS: The Adam Smith Institute is holding a panel discussion, focusing on the decriminalisation of drugs. Free, prebook, 6.30pm
Friday 15 March
HISTORY OF SCIENTIFIC LANGUAGE: Professor Claire Preston delivers this talk on how Thomas Browne and some of his 17th Century contemporaries helped develop a scientific language to match the scientific advancements of the period, at The Royal Society. Free, just turn up, 1pm
FINGERPRINTS: Head along to The Petrie Museum to find out about fingerprinting techniques, examine your own fingerprints under a microscope and even donate your prints to form a special display in the museum (scroll down the webpage for the listing). Free, just turn up, 1pm
Saturday 16 March
BIG BANG FAIR: Visit The Big Bang Fair at ExCeL — the UK's largest fair for science, technology, engineering and maths, specifically designed for young people. Continues tomorrow. Free, prebook, 9.30am-5.30pm
FOSSILS: Forage for fossils today at Grant Museum of Zoology, as part of National Science and Engineering Week. Prepare to get mucky, but you do get to keep any treasures you find. Free, just turn up, 1-5pm
Did we miss anything? Let us know in the comments or email [email protected] to tip us off about future events.
