Southsea pubs to host science talks as popular festival returns

A SERIES of science talks across Southsea pubs is back next month.
The Barley Mow in Southsea Picture: Malcolm WellsThe Barley Mow in Southsea Picture: Malcolm Wells
The Barley Mow in Southsea Picture: Malcolm Wells

From May 14 to 16, people will be able to go to evening talks given by scientists in pubs as part of the Pint of Science Festival.

Emily Roberts, the publicity officer for the Portsmouth team, said: ‘The aim of these talks is to show everyone the exciting research that is going on in their local area. Also we want to break down that barrier that science is for scientists only.

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‘I want everyone to feel welcome and come to our talks, no prior knowledge is required.

‘Science is so important, and sharing that knowledge even more so.’

All the talks in Southsea – at The Barley Mow in Castle Road; The Fat Fox in Victoria Road South and The Kings in Albert Road – will be centred around the themes Beautiful Minds, Our Bodies, Planet Earth and Creative Reactions.

Emily added: ‘The themes are decided by our wonderful speakers, who generously donate their time to share their research.’

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Pint of Science is a non-profit organisation which aims to recreate the buzz of music festivals through allowing experts in a range of scientific fields to talk to the public.

The Pint of Science festival hosted 18 researchers in Portsmouth last year and to attend this year, people will need to book online and pay a £4 fee.

The events usually start at 7pm, where people can grab a drink and settle in for a half-hour presentation. After this, people can discuss and ask questions, with no limit on how silly the questions are – there is no need for expert knowledge.

Tony Butcher, the Portsmouth co-ordinator, said: ‘Anyone and everyone can go. They’re designed to be accessible and to get people engaged in science who haven’t thought about it before.’

Around 500 events are run in 33 cities nationally, with 22,000 people attending in the UK and 100,000 worldwide.

The timetable is on the website pintofscience.co.uk/events/portsmouth