Have science museums had their day? e.t.c., e.t.c.

Edward Lear (1818-1888) A View Of The Nile Above Aswan

 

• Podcast: Have science museums had their day?

Ian Sample meets the director of London’s Science Museum, Ian Blatchford, to discuss the role of museums in an era of quantum mechanics, particle physics and genomics

• Presented by Ian Sample and produced by Jason Phipps

• guardian.co.uk, Monday 24 September 2012

The Science Museum in London is a treasure house of wonderful technological artefacts such as Stephenson’s Rocket and Apollo 10. But are its glory days numbered in the new era of quantum mechanics, genomics and particle physics? What exhibit could possibly do justice to these abstruse fields of science?

This week, Guardian science correspondent Ian Sample interviews Ian Blatchford, director of the Science Museum in London, and asks him how the museum plans to bring the Large Hadron Collider and the ephemeral Higgs boson to life for the public in an upcoming exhibition.

Blatchford also addresses criticism that the museum is too ready to accept corporate sponsorship – its climate change gallery is sponsored by Shell and its energy gallery is sponsored by BP, for example.

And finally, has Blatchford ever been tempted to climb into the Apollo 10 capsule when no one is around?

Why is science important? – video

Newton Channel index

Alom Shaha set up a website and invited people to contribute answers to a question every science teacher (and scientist) must confront: what’s the point? They could say the scientific method is a tool for developing cool new technologies, but what use is a new iPhone to someone starving? And what of the misuse of science to develop weapons of mass destruction? They could say scientists develop new medicines, and warn of threats to our species. But what use is that knowledge if politicians and the public don’t understand, or don’t want to understand? Finally they could say science helps to fulfill our potential as human beings and know our place in the universe. In this film, Shaha presents some of the answers he received to his question

• Why is science important?

• The Science Museum’s 20th century icons

 

• Model T Ford: what made it so special? – video

  Video (6min 10sec), 24 Aug 2012:

  Henry Ford created ‘the car which made us ordinary folk want to drive’, says David Rooney, curator of transport at London’s Science Museum

• V2 rocket: engine of war and discovery – video

  Video (6min 38sec), 4 Aug 2012:

  ‘Without the V2 maybe we wouldn’t have gone to the moon,’ says Doug Millard of London’s Science Museum in conversation with planetary scientist Colin Pillinger

• The wonder and the tragedy of penicillin – video

  Video (6min 58sec), 16 Mar 2011:

  When penicillin went into mass production at the end of the second world war it was hailed as a wonder drug, but creeping bacterial resistance has steadily robbed it of its potency

• What made Stephenson’s Rocket so special? – video

  Video (4min 10sec), 11 Mar 2011:

  The steam locomotive Stephenson’s Rocket didn’t contain a single technological innovation, so how did it trigger a transport revolution?

• The world’s first multi-tasking computer – video

  Video (6min 16sec), 1 Mar 2011:

  We take the ability to multi-task on our computers for granted, but it all started with the Pilot Ace Computer and the genius of mathematician Alan Turing

• How the electric telegraph switched on the connected world – video

  Video (6min 42sec), 18 Feb 2011:

  In 1837 Cooke and Wheatstone patented their telegraph, starting a new era of instant, long-distance electrical communication

• The machines that made the industrial revolution – video

  Video (5min 37sec), 1 Feb 2011:

  Science museum curator Ben Russell tells the story of the atmospheric beam engine built by Francis Thompson in 1791

• The DNA double helix: A 20th century icon

  Video (5min 42sec), 30 Nov 2010:

  The Science Museum’s Robert Bud talks to Dr Mark Hirst of the Open University about why the discovery of the structure of DNA marked a turning point in our understanding of life

• Apollo 10: To the moon and back

  Video (5min 29sec), 19 Nov 2010:

  As part of the Science Museum’s 20th century icons series Doug Millard, senior curator of ICT and Space Technology and Colin Pillinger, who worked on the Apollo project, discuss the moon landings’ legacy

• X-ray machines – a 20th century icon

  Video (7min 39sec), 26 Oct 2010:

  Katie Maggs of the Science Museum in London talks to Liz Parvin of the Open University about the accidental discovery of X-rays and the extraordinary benefits that have followed

• Why is science important?

  Alom Shaha set up a website and invited people to contribute answers to a question every science teacher (and scientist) must answer: what’s the point?

Physics

• 

  Brian Cox’s guide to quantum mechanics

  Video (11min 12sec): In The Hunt for the Higgs, the Cern physicist presents his handy guide to quantum mechanics and the subatomic world

• 

  Brian Cox explains the forces of nature

  Video (12min 34sec): The forces that underpin our world: the strong and weak nuclear forces, electromagnetism and gravity

  • More physics videos

DNA

• 

  The DNA double helix: A 20th century icon

  Video (5min 42sec): The Science Museum’s Robert Bud talks to Dr Mark Hirst of the Open University about why the discovery of DNA’s structure marked a turning point in our understanding of life

• 

  Organisms are information networks

  Video (11min 09sec): Nobel prizewinner Paul Nurse predicts that the complexity of life’s networks will take us into a strange and counterintuitive world

  • DNA and genetics

Medicine

• 

  How aspirin can help prevent colon cancer

  Video (10min 15sec): Professor John Burn reveals the effects of aspirin on the development of colon cancer in patients with familial polyposis

• 

  The wonder and the tragedy of penicillin

  Video (6min 58sec): When penicillin went into mass production it was hailed as a wonder drug, but bacterial resistance has sapped its potency

  • More medicine videos

Environment

• 

  Solar towers light the way

  Video (11min 00sec): The world’s first commercial solar tower plant gives a breathtaking glimpse of the future of power generation

• 

  Ian McEwan: The Copenhagen farce

  Video (13min 30sec): Ian McEwan tells Matt Ridley how he saw the spirit of his latest book play out at Copenhagen

  • More videos about the environment

People

• 

  Robert Winston goes back to school

  Video (6min 00sec): Fertility pioneer Robert Winston and young researchers from Imperial College London want to inspire school pupils to become scientists

• 

  Murray Gell-Mann talks quarks

  Video (12min 09sec): The Nobel prizewinning physicist explains his discovery that protons and neutrons are made of quarks

Future

• 

  Future of science, part 1

  Video (12min 43sec): Scientists gathered in Newcastle’s Centre for Life to make their predictions for the next 10 years

• 

  Future of science, part 2

  Video (12min 07sec): Will humans become taller and fatter, will an Earth-like planet be discovered, will we find a cure for cancer?

Biology

• 

  Extraordinary creatures from the Arctic abyss

  Video (9min 24sec): The Census of Marine Life is bringing to light extraordinary microscopic creatures never before seen by human eyes

• 

  Wanted: Adventurous microbes

  Video (11min 05sec): Scientists seek reliable bacteria and algae to provide oxygen and food on round-trip to Mars

  • More biology films

Mathematics

• 

  Marcus du Sautoy counts from zero to infinity

  Video (14min 13sec): The Oxford mathematician takes us on a journey through the history of numbers, including the invention of zero and the taming of infinity

• 

  Lucky numbers: The mathematics of chance

  Video (14min 22sec): Marcus du Sautoy introduces probability, including why the casino always wins and how to maximise your chances of a big lottery win

  • More maths films

Beyond Earth

• 

  Apollo 10: To the moon and back

  Video (5min 29sec): As part of the Science Museum’s 20th century icons series, Doug Millard and Colin Pillinger discuss the moon landings’ legacy

• 

  Richard Dawkins on extraterrestrials

  Video (10min 45sec): Matt Ridley and Richard Dawkins speculate about extraterrestrial life at the Centre for Life in Newcastle

  • More videos about space

Technology

• 

  Making Smart cars smarter

  Video (5min 54sec): Scientists are working on a Smart car battery that will allow electric cars to travel the same distance as petrol and diesel cars without re-charging

• 

  Revolutionary machines

  Video (5min 37sec): Science museum curator Ben Russell tells the story of the atmospheric beam engine built by Francis Thompson in 1791

History

• 

  First multi-tasking computer

  Video (6min 16sec): We take the ability to multi-task on computers for granted, but it all started with the Pilot Ace and the genius of Alan Turing

• 

  Stephenson’s Rocket

  Video (4min 10sec): The steam locomotive Stephenson’s Rocket didn’t contain a single technological innovation, so how did it trigger a transport revolution?

Art and science

• 

  Comedians regale skeptics

  Video (10min 46sec): Stand-up comedians Helen Keen and Matt Parker perform science jokes for skeptics in a London pub

• 

  Performance artist Stelarc

  Video (8min 57sec): Stelarc says his bizarre performances reflect the way modern technology changes what it means to be human

 

Edward Lear (1818-1888) Gozo Malta