From Michael Faraday to David Attenborough plus adorable lemur – many eminent figures have delivered at the UK’s Royal Institution. The organisation has put on 180 series of Christmas lectures since 1825, delivered by a total of 105 lecturers including eight Nobel prizewinners. Here, , the Royal Institution’s science historian, describes his favourite from each decade.

Gallery: The Royal Institution’s festive feasts for the mind

Dangerous, yes; useful, sometimes; works of art – no. But this gallery of the best microbial artworks might change your mind

Einstein in E. coli, an apple tree grown from fungi and a fluorescent Mario are just some of the masterworks cast in agar jelly by creative microbiologists.