SCIENCE FESTIVAL

BEYOND PLANET EARTH FILM
THE VISIT
Earth may not have been visited by
aliens, but ever since the invention
of radio and television, humans
have been announcing their
existence to other civilizations. Join
acclaimed film director Michael
Madsen and Royal Society
scientist Martin Dominik for a
thought-provoking journey into the
unknown. With unprecedented
access to the UN Office for Outer
Space Affairs, NASA and the SETI
Institute, this film builds a chillingly
believable scenario of first contact
on Earth. Introduced by Michael
and Martin, the screening will be
followed by a drinks reception.
6pm | 2.5 hours
£10.50/£8.50 #SciPals students £4.25
Filmhouse
Presented by The Royal Society
Summerhall | Hacklab 7pm EXTREME SOLDERING See page 43
The Banshee Labyrinth 7.30pm AT THE FRINGE OF REASON: SKEPTICS IN THE PUB See page 39
BEING HUMAN DISCUSSION
THE RIGHTS OF THE MACHINE
In 2015, two chimpanzees in
New York were granted ‘legal
person status’ by a court ruling.
This action has potentially
groundbreaking implications in
the field of medical ethics. Do
intelligent robotic systems deserve
civil rights? Or even human rights?
Join Kathleen Richardson from the
Campaign Against Sex Robots, and
Dr Patricia Vargas, Roboethicist
and Director of Heriot-Watt
University’s Robotics Laboratory,
as they explore the rights of
the machine.
8pm | 90 mins
£8.50/£6.50/#SciPals students £4.25
Summerhall | Red Lecture Theatre
GASTROFEST SPECIAL EVENT
CHOCOLATE: FOOD OF THE GODS
The seeds known to science
as theobroma cacao (meaning
‘food of the gods’) have a long
and fascinating history. In this
special interactive evening, we
will investigate the past, present
and future of chocolate. Chocolate
writer and Chief Executive of
the Royal Academy of Culinary
Arts Sara Jane Staynes OBE
is joined by Prof Paul Hadley,
head of the Cocoa Project at the
University of Reading, and master
chocolatier Aneesh Poppat for a
scientific feast for the senses not
to be missed. Hosted by Susan
Morrison.
8pm | 90 mins
£15 (includes tasters) | Summerhall
Dissection Room
Supported by
SCIENCE AND CULTURE DISCUSSION
DON’T KNOW WHAT TO
BELIEVE? ASK FOR EVIDENCE
Every day, we hear claims about
what is good for our health or
bad for the environment and how
to improve education, cut crime
and treat disease. But how do we
know what to believe? Join a panel
of speakers from Sense About
Science, Research The Headlines,
the Nappy Science Gang and The
Young Academy of Scotland as
they share stories from allotment
growers, powerlifters, personal
trainers and others who stood up
for science and asked for evidence.
8pm | 90 mins
£8.50/£6.50/#SciPals students £4.25
Summerhall | Anatomy Lecture Theatre
Presented by Sense About Science
OUR BUILT ENVIRONMENT DISCUSSION
LINKING OUR CITIES
What’s the cost of our reliance
on roads and fossil fuel powered
vehicles? And, as we accelerate
into the future, what innovations
and improvements can we hope
for to reduce these impacts?
Meet experts including Arup
Foresight Analyst Lynne Goulding,
autonomous vehicle research
leader Dr Natasha Merat and
Prof Martin Tangney of Celtic
Renewables, to discover what
changes are just around the corner
and the big ideas leading us down
the road to the future.
8pm | 90 mins
£8.50/£6.50/#SciPals students £4.25
National Museum of Scotland | Auditorium
Our Built Environment events are supported
by Scotland’s Year of Innovation, Architecture
and Design
BEING HUMAN DISCUSSION
ERADICATING EBOLA AND
OTHER EPIDEMICS
The recent outbreak in West
Africa brought Ebola to the
attention of people around
the world. Join Prof Mark
Woolhouse, infectious disease
epidemiologist at The University
of Edinburgh, Dennis Kerr from
Médecins Sans Frontières and
Prof Sarah Gilbert, professor of
vaccinology at the University of
Oxford, to examine this disease.
They will look at its symptoms,
how it spreads and how to stop
it, as well as discussing how
technology can be used to track
epidemics and how new deadly
pathogens emerge.
8pm | 90 mins
£8.50/£6.50/#SciPals students £4.25
Summerhall | Anatomy Lecture Theatre
The Banshee Labyrinth 7.30pm AT THE FRINGE OF REASON: SKEPTICS IN THE PUB See page 39
GASTROFEST SPECIAL EVENT
LAVISH LEFTOVERS
Households in Scotland throw
away an incredible 566,000
tonnes of food every year. It’s
thought that three quarters of
this waste could be avoided if
we practiced better management
in our buying, cooking and
consumption. In this age of
increasing strain on our natural
resources is it time we reassessed
our food habits? In this interactive
event we’ll serve up dishes made
from ingredients that might
otherwise have gone to waste
alongside advice and information
from food experts including
Pete Ritchie, director of Nourish
Scotland, and a representative
from The Real Junk Food Project.
8pm | 90 mins
£15 (includes 3 courses) | Summerhall
Main Hall
A PLANETARY PERSPECTIVE DISCUSSION
CLIMATE CHANGE: MIGRATE
TO ADAPT
Climate-induced migration is likely
to be one of the big challenges the
world faces in the 21st century. As
the Earth’s temperatures rise and
weather becomes more extreme
and unpredictable, more and more
areas of our planet will become too
harsh to live in and migration will
become a form of adaption. Join
experts including Alex Randall,
from the UK Climate Change and
Migration Coalition, and climate
change and conflict researcher
Dr Christian Almer to explore this
important topic.
8pm | 90 mins
£8.50/£6.50/#SciPals students £4.25
Summerhall | Red Lecture Theatre
ONLINE BOOKING: sciencefestival.co.uk BOOKING HOTLINE: 0844 557 2686 53