Science Festival

Elgin Town Hall

Saturday 24 November 10am – 4pm
Sunday 25 November 1pm – 4pm

MINI SCIENCE LECTURES
In association with Moray’s Astronomy Club, SIGMA and St Andrew’s University.

Saturday, 24th November 2007

10:30 – 11:00IMAGES OF THE NIGHT SKY
A selection of images of objects in the night sky and their explanation, by local amateur astro-photographer Alan Tough from Moray’s Astronomy Club, SIGMA.
11:30 – 12:00THE STUFF THAT COMETS ARE MADE OF
Bill Leslie and his team from SIGMA will be telling us a bit about comets and showing, by actually making one, what they are made off.
12:30 – 13:00THE STAR OF BETHLEHEM
What was the Star of Bethlehem? Could it have been a comet or even a supernova? Maarten de Vries speculates about the origins of the Star and explains how some stars come to a spectacular end.
13:30 – 14:00VISION FOR THE FUTURE
A team from St Andrew’s University will be looking at how millimetre waves can be used to see things that are otherwise invisible.
14:30 – 15:00THE STUFF THAT COMETS ARE MADE OF
For those that didn’t get a chance to see it earlier, Bill and his colleagues will have another attempt at making a comet
15:30 – 16:00THE SUN AND THE MOON
The two brightest objects in the sky, but what do we know about them? Bill Leslie from SIGMA will be showing us some interesting facts about the Sun and the Moon.

Sunday, 25th November 2007

13:30 – 14:00THE PHYSICS OF JOB
Howie Firth brings together clues from sources ranging from ancient tree-rings to the fall of Troy, to show that amongst its theology and poetry, the Book of Job also remarkably lays down some of the foundations of modern science.
14:30 – 15:00THE STUFF THAT COMETS ARE MADE OFF
Bill Leslie and his team from SIGMA will be telling us a bit about comets and showing, by actually making one, what they are made off.
15:30 – 16:00A JOURNEY THROUGH THE SOLAR SYSTEM
Christopher Jennings from SIGMA will take you on a tour of our solar system using stunning computer simulations of the planets.

Demonstrations and Hands On

Saturday, 24 November from 10am – 4pm
Sunday, 25 November from 1pm – 4pm

Spaceflight Simulator
Take the controls of a realistic virtual spacecraft and launch it into orbit. If you are very brave, you could try and take it back down again!

Vision for the Future
A team from St Andrews University will show some practical applications of millimetre waves.

Face of the Future
Ever wondered what you would like if you were a chimp, or a famous film star? The team from St Andrews University shows some of the things you can do with face recognition technology.

The Science of Miniaturisation
Have a go at the controls of one of the world’s smallest remote controlled helicopters.

Rocket Science
Are you a rocket scientist? Show us your skills and have a chance of winning a rocket launcher (age restrictions apply).

Image Courtesy of
Debbie Munro (Sigma)