Every spring the capital of Scotland is host to a fortnight of inspiring science events. No matter what your age or science background is, you'll find something at the science festival to keep you entertained! There are talks by famous scientists, exhibitions around the city, street performers. guided walks and many opportunities get your hands dirty with some real experiments.
The University of Edinburgh's contribution to the science festival is Discover Science, held at the National Museum of Scotland on Chambers Street. Ten of the university's departments get to show off what makes their subject awesome, with hands-on exhibits and enthusiastic student volunteers to guide people through the science.
The School of Mathematics have always taken along an interesting collection of games and puzzles to excite the public about various aspects of maths. In 2011 they devised a series of psychological and strategic games to highlight the techniques of Game Theory, including a balloon-and-chocolate form of the Prisoner's Dilemma. In 2010 they teamed up with SCI-FUN to build an exhibit about Möbius strips: surfaces that have only one side. The exhibit explored not only the strange and magical nature of the strips themselves, but the implications of non-orientability and the possible shape of our universe.
