From the history of Manchester Natural History Society (including a fight over an umbrella stand) to the science of dogs and finger knitting.
Mon 25 Oct / 11am-2pm: Finger Knitting Workshop
This workshop is to teach the fun and easy technique of finger knitting. The knitted chains made by participants will then be knitted together to make a large knitted panel, representing the people of Manchester. This workshop will run alongside the exhibition 'Reach out and knit together 2010'.
Free, drop-in, max 10 participants at any one time, all ages
Mon 25 Oct / 1-2pm: Charles Darwin Award Lecture: Hit me with your rhythm stick
Moving to music is an instinctive, often involuntary activity, experienced by humans in all cultures throughout history. Even the brains of newborn babies respond to music and rhythm. We will explore cultural influences on our everyday musical abilities, touching on interesting evolutionary theories about why we developed a musical culture at all. We will look at how the brain responds to music, and highlight the exciting potential held by musical therapies that exploit links between music and movement to help those with neurological conditions such as Parkinson's disease.
Drop-in, free, adults and older children
Wed 27 Oct / Display 11am-4pm, Talk: 2-4pm: Pedigree chums: historical perspectives on the science of dog breeding
Drawing together cutting edge research in evolutionary biology and historical studies, these talks explore the enduring appeal of pedigree dogs, tracing how different breeds physically changed over time and what this meant to the wider public, breeders and pet owners. The talks will also reveal Manchester's history of dog shows and dog skulls!
Drop-in, free, adults and older children
Thurs 28 Oct & Sat 30 Oct / 12.30-1.30pm: Arguments and umbrella stands: Victorian Manchester's natural history collections
Ever wondered where today's museum collections come from? In Victorian Manchester there was a Geological Society and a Natural History Society. They shared a museum, but disagreed about the admission fee - and about everything else, including the museum's umbrella stand! Find out about these 19th century societies, and see how some of their collections ended up in The Manchester Museum.
Drop-in, free, adults and older children
Frid 29 Oct / 1-2pm: Letting George do it: are we over-automating our lives?
George, the colloquial name for autopilot, now looks after our lives in many other areas to. But whilst George was recruited to make our lives easier and more efficient, in many cases he has failed to deliver his full potential. This lecture examines the human factors associated with automation and related technologies from the perspective of human-centred design.
Drop-in, free, adults and older children
Fri 29 Oct / 3-4pm: The food of gods
It is in fact remarkable that chocolate, as we know it, was ever developed, not only because of its unpromising origins as a fatty drink, but also because of its relatively complicated structure.
This talk looks at the history of chocolate and then reviews its method of manufacture. Here science plays an important role in that both the flow properties and the crystallization. Both must be correct in order to obtain a product with the required weight-control, shape, texture and shelf-life.
The industry has also changed dramatically in recent years from a low through-put craft base, to a highly mechanized one. This has required a more in-depth scientific knowledge to be obtained of both processes and products. Several problems remain to be explored, however.
Free, book on the day, adults and older children
