Monday
The first Royal Institution Quiz of the year tonight, promising everything from History of Science to current research via “how is that scientific?”. No need to book, but it was pretty busy last time, so I advise you to get there a bit before the 7pm start. £2 per person entry; teams and individuals welcome.
Tuesday
Lunch time lectures return to UCL today with Exploring the Arctic From Space featuring speaker Dr Katharine Giles of the UCL Centre for Polar Observation & Modelling. Lectures start at 1:15pm in the Darwin Lecture Theatre at the Gower Street building and are free and open to all. They are also available to watch live online or download later.
Wednesday
Another early event, but this one will take a bit more than your lunch hour: a guided walk through Bloomsbury led by Richard Barnett, Wellcome Trust Public Engagement Fellow and author of ‘Medical London’, discovering the history of medical London. Walk begins at Holborn tube and covers Holborn, Bloomsbury and St Pancras in two hours. Free, but advance booking essential.
Thursday
History of Science at the Royal Society tonight, with a lecture on the 18th century polymath Roger Boscovich. A contributor in astronomy, geophysics and archaeology amongst others, he is the subject of the exhibition ‘Roger Boscovich and the Royal Society’, on display at the Royal Society until 15 February. Attendance is free and no booking required; doors at 5:30 for a 6pm start.
Friday
My personal choice of the week: a panel discussion at the Natural History Museum entitled Exploration: to Antarctica and beyond Looking at questions like “why do we explore the world around us?” and “how has exploration changed?” are Dr David Pearce, Microbiologist at the British Antarctic Survey and leader of the Lake Ellsworth ‘Search for life’ project, Vanessa Berlowitz, series producer of Frozen Planet, BBC, and David Hempleman-Adams, record-breaking British explorer and adventurer.
£18 a head; book in advance. Doors at 7 for 7:30pm. After the event, attendees will be able to see the new exhibition, Scott’s Last Expedition which opens this Friday.
The Weekend
Hampstead Observatory is still running its winter schedule of observing, open Friday and Saturday night 8-10pm for star gazing and Sunday 11-1pm for sun gazing. Free and no need to book, but all weather dependent, so check first.
You can follow the Nature Network London Google calendar of events in London at https://blogs.nature.com/london/2011/05/17/scientific-events-calendar. Updated daily.