STAND back everyone, or the jelly baby gets it. Several of the little sweet people are about to meet an untimely end – blasted into outer space or subjected to a fiery demise – assuming everything goes to plan, that is.
Mummy will be under attack too. From hundreds of inquisitive youngsters who will poke and prod the Egyptian specimen before heading off to perform delicate surgery using an endoscope on a patient already mutilated by dozens of earlier fumbling finger
s.
All of which, of course, can only mean one thing – it's Science Festival time again.
Festival director Simon Gage has spent the past ten months scouring the nation and beyond for the bizarre, the informative, the weird and the fascinating, all in the name of science. From Tuesday, the results of his search can be seen when the 20th Edinburgh International Science Festival begins.
Attractions range from jelly baby madness at the Museum of Scotland courtesy of Edinburgh-based science show stalwart, Dr Bunhead – appearing in his 11th Festival – to serious talk on the world crisis of climate change.
Other events include a cutting edge discussion on stem cells, the chance to dig up a dinosaur, an exploration of the cosmos, and the opportunity to become a star closer to home in your own video.
"What am I looking forward to most? Pretty much everything," he grins. "But I suppose the most fun for me is watching the kids enjoying Wonderama at the Assembly Rooms. I get to listen to them – they are our customers, after all – and it's great to hear what they think about things.
"It does give you a bit of a warm glow to know they are enjoying science in that way."
This is his 19th Festival – "I started as the tea boy," he laughs – during which time it has become a template for similar events around the world.
From humble beginnings, the Festival now attracts around 70,000 visitors and has evolved into a dramatic clash of childhood fun and serious debate. It also has the clout to attract some of the biggest names in the scientific world to the Capital. They come to discuss breakthrough discoveries while at the same time bringing science to a new generation through thrills, spills and jelly babies.
"I'm blowing them up, sending them into space, just about everything you can imagine," declares Dr Bunhead, aka Tom Pringle, whose Crash Test Jelly Babies show is among the highlights of the Edinburgh University-backed Discover Science programme at the National Museum of Scotland.
"It's all about bringing some 'wow' factor to science, to get people – children and adults – engaged.
"Once they get over how cool it is to see something explode in front of them, they start thinking about what they see. The next thing you know, they're talking hypotheses over breakfast cereal!"
Children are at the forefront of the Festival's agenda, taking over the Assembly Rooms in George Street for two weeks of science-based fun. Around 10,000 visitors are expected through its doors.
There, youngsters with a steady hand can attempt ER surgery using real hospital equipment; while those with a strong stomach can unwrap an Egyptian mummy to explore beneath the bandages. There are robots to programme, toys to dismantle, and video games to explore.
"One of the key attractions is a fascinating skeleton robot which can climb ropes and is pretty amazing," enthuses Gage. "The ER surgery is a favourite – gory but definitely fun."
The children's programme
'The Festival is able to attract some very important names'
continues at the museum with, among others, Dr Bunhead and Glasgow Science Centre's Flame On! Show, and at the Royal Botanic Garden for everything from exploring recycling to outer space, carbon footprint-reducing food and papermaking.
Further afield, visitor attraction Our Dynamic Earth at Holyrood and the Seabird Centre at North Berwick will also stage events under the Festival's banner.
It's not just children who find the Festival fascinating, insists Gage. Running alongside the exploding jelly babies and football-playing robots is a world-renowned programme of key events, featuring some of the biggest names in science, among them Dolly the Sheep creator Dr Ian Wilmut, television's Professor Heinz Wolff, and climate change expert Sir David King, former chief scientific advisor to the Blair government.
"It is an indication of how the Festival is regarded that we are able to attract some very important names," Gage explains.
"With science moving at such a pace, there's never a shortage of different people or issues for us to include."
If the words "science" and "festival" sound a bit of a mismatch to you, Gage is quick to point out that there's nothing stuffy about the lectures and debates. After all, where else might you learn about the aerodynamics of skeleton bobsleigh? The topic will be brought to life by Edinburgh University-based student Iain Roberts, who will combine the high-speed sport with a PhD on the mechanics of ice friction.
Among the most fascinating, says Gage, will be a presentation from Dr Hugh Montgomery, a doctor and mountaineer who has carried out a string of experiments on human performance on Everest. The result is a remarkable exploration of how the human body copes in extreme conditions at the top of the world.
The Festival's main event will be the presentation of the Edinburgh Medal. Previous recipients include Sir David Attenborough and editor-in-chief of The Lancet, Sir Richard Horton, last year's winner.
This year, Chris Rapley, director of the Science Museum in London and former director of the British Antarctic Survey, will receive the medal at a presentation and lecture on climate change at the McEwan Hall on March 31.
Gage says the event now sets the science festival standard. "When we first embarked on an annual science festival in Edinburgh, people said we were absolutely crazy," he recalls. "They said you can't possibly expect people to come to a festival that's about nothing but science. Now there are over ten science festivals in Scotland alone, each taking their template from what we are doing, so we must be doing something right."
The Edinburgh International Science Festival runs at various venues from March 25 to April 5. To book tickets and for details of events, visit the website at www.sciencefestival.co.uk.
Poo, jelly babies and compostingDr Bunhead's Crash Test Jelly Babies Dr Bunhead presents an hour of 100 per cent pure live science, testing inanimate objects to destruction. Science made scary with all the nasty bits left in. April 1-4, 11am (1 hour), age 7-plus, National Museum of Scotland – Lecture Theatre, Adults £5, concessions £4.
How to Make the Perfect Poo The most disgusting, sticky, sloppy show you'll ever see. March 26-30, 11am (1 hour), age 5-plus, National Museum of Scotland – Lecture Theatre, Adults £5, concessions £4
Composting Creatures See wiggly worms up close and discover the exciting creatures that convert rubbish to lovely compost. March 29-31, Drop in from 10am, age 5-plus, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh – Exhibition Hall.
Wonderama If you are a budding scientist, aspiring surgeon, wannabe adventurer or trainee archaeologist, get yourself down to Wonderama. Attractions include iiRobotics shop and Science Cafe, run by East Lothian's Fenton Barns Farm Shop. Assembly Rooms, George Street. Everyday from March 25 to April 5 (except Sunday, March 30), from 9.30am. Day Passes cost £6.50 per adult, children 3-6 and concessions £5, children 7 and over £8.50. Advisable to reserve places at some of the star attractions when booking.
Full details at www.edinburghsciencefestival.co.uk
