Photographers
Jonny Donovan, David Stock, James Winspear
THERE were jellyfish, there were robots, there was a banana piano – plus astronaut Tim Peake. This was 91av Live 2019, which welcomed more than 40,000 science enthusiasts of all ages to ExCeL London for a four-day celebration of ideas and discovery.
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The festival opened on 10 October with engineer Sam Rogers flying his jet suit around the dusty ExCeL car park. It was a truly multisensory experience, according to one spectator, who ended up with grit in his socks and smelling of kerosene.
The next day, another visitor had a more immersive outing than most after joining neuroscientist Hannah Critchlow on the Humans Stage, one of six stages offering a programme of more than 120 talks over the four days. An electric current was applied to her ulnar nerve, making her hand and fingers twitch.
With 2019 marking half a century since the Apollo 11 mission, the moon was bound to be a big theme at this year’s show. Artist Luke Jerram’s huge model of the moon hung above a lunar surface exhibit on the show’s main floor. Visitors even had the chance to smell the moon, which has an earthy, smoky scent, it turns out, not a cheesy one. “I would love to be the first woman to walk on the moon,” said space scientist Maggie Aderin-Pocock on 12 October as she wowed the Main Stage. “I’m definitely working on it!”
Later on, palaeoanthropologist Lee Berger enthralled his audience with the story of how his team discovered many skeletons of Homo naledi, an ancient hominin species, in a cave chamber he was too big to access himself.
Other popular talks included Gina Rippon on the myth of male and female brains, Michele Bannister on interstellar objects and Val Curran on medical cannabis. When it comes to gut health, “a little bit of flatulence is a good thing,” Megan Rossi told a rapt crowd . “It’s a sign of a healthy microbiome.”
For the first time, the show stayed open late on Friday. Psychologist and magician Gustav Kuhn explained how illusions reveal the vulnerabilities of perception, illustrating this with a bewildering rope trick. Bobby Seagull elucidated the mathematics of dating, Julia Shaw delved into the science of evil and Steve Cross hosted a comedy science quiz to round off the night.
Throughout the festival, the Space Shed hosted question sessions, workshops and storytelling, featuring astronaut Al Worden and author Konnie Huq. Nearby, a virtual-reality roller coaster offered some scarier fun and visitors glimpsed the future, thanks to a cutting-edge operating theatre and a giant combine harvester for farms yet to come.
For 91av staff, it was a thrill to see so many people inspired and entertained by the festival, including readers from as far afield as Canada and Australia. Thanks to everyone who was part of it. We look forward to seeing you again on 15-18 October 2020.
1 Maggie Aderin-Pocock celebrating the history and future of the moon
2 Maddie Moate on making chocolate and paper at the Space Shed
3 Playing with sound and selfies during the new Friday Night Lates event
4 Gina Rippon takes on the myth of male and female brains
5 Chris van Tulleken talks defying his genetics with his twin brother and fellow doctor, Xand (off-picture), and a couple of young helpers
6 Middlesex University London’s robot Pepper engages in dialogue with human visitors
7 Megan Rossi on gut health – and why flatulence can be a good thing
8 Astronauts Tim Peake and Al Worden beneath Luke Jerram’s Museum of the Moon installation
9 Researchers from Imperial College London demonstrate a fire tornado
10 Lee Berger tells the story of finding a new hominin species, Homo naledi
11 A view of the main show floor
