What's On at ATOM Festival '25
ATOM Science Market Day
Saturday March 15th 10am - 3pm
Abingdon Market Place
Free event - booking not required
Science comes to the Market Place in Abingdon, with science exhibitors and communicators all assembled to show you why they love their scientific work! When you have looked around the Market Place don't forget that there are activities, talks and shows going on in the Museum and in the Guildhall, both a few steps away.
More details about this event including how to take part if you are a science organisation here
Science Market Day .....in the Museum
Saturday 15th March - drop in between 10.30am and 3pm
Abingdon Museum
Free event - booking not required.
Fossil and Mineral Day by Oxfordshire Geology Trust
Take a deep dive into the fossils and minerals collection of the Oxfordshire Geology Trust.
You can handle the fossilised bones of a young ichthyosaur and a dinosaur footprint cast. Have alook at a reproduction of the Stonesfield Megalosaurus jaw found by William
Buckland 200 years ago!
Feel free to bring in your own fossils for identification and take part in our Trails, Fossil Lucky Dip and dinosaur mask-making.
ATOM Presents.....Workshops at the Guildhall
Sunday March 16th - workshop sessions throughout the day
Roysse Room, Abingdon Guildhall
ATOM's Family Workshops Day One: A CSI workshop sponsored by the Royal Society of Chemistry
A Monstrous Discovery
We have uncovered a very mysterious bone in a recent excavation. Now we need young investigators to work out just what kind of a creature this bone could have come from. Will you be one of the team using a variety of techniques, equipment and chemical tests to discover the truth?
For more information and bookings click here
ATOM Talk
Sunday 16th March
7.30pm | Doors open at 6.45pm
(Please note this talk starts later than was originally advertised. The start time of the talk is now 7.30pm and there is a book signing in the half hour before the talk.)
Roysse Room, Abingdon Guildhall
Brainjacking: the Science of Influence and Manipulation
Brian Clegg
Brainjacking explores the psychology of storytelling - the ability that makes us human. Science writer Brian Clegg describes three ways we use story to modify others’ brains: informing, influencing and manipulating. We discover how techniques from nudges and subliminal influences to powerful emotional manipulation occur in education, advertising, AI, social media and more.
More details and speaker biography
Talk hosted by The ATOM Society
Tuesday 18th March
7.30pm | Doors open at 7pm
Abingdon United Football Club, Northcourt Road, OX14 1PL
Susan Downes: Macular Degeneration through the Ages
The macula enables you to see print, recognise faces and distinguish colours. Macular disorders affect nearly 1.5 million people in the UK. Age-related macular degeneration has huge impact on 600,000 individuals, whose treatment needs significant healthcare resources. This talk will describe current therapy and consider potential advances in diagnosis and treatment. Professor Downes has a national and international reputation in the field of inherited retinal dystrophies (IRD) with over 30 years of research and working in the field. In 2008, Susan set up the Eye Research Group Oxford (ERGO), now a 20 member multidisciplinary team, which she leads.
This talk is free to all ATOM Society members. Non-members are welcome (£3 cash on the door.)
More details and speaker biography
ATOM presents......at Culham Campus
Wednesday 19th March
Starts at 6pm
Culham Campus
Sorry - this event is now fully booked.
Open Evening Talk and Tour at UKAEA
Harnessing the Power of Stars on Earth
Bring your questions and curiosity as you discover just how on Earth we are creating star-power and see two of the leading facilities responsible for this ground-breaking research, pushing us closer to delivering fusion energy for all!
Our Open Evenings offer you a unique opportunity to see in-person some of the amazing work we are doing to develop sustainable fusion energy. You will receive an introductory talk covering the basics of fusion energy, followed by tours of the world’s largest fusion experiment; the world record breaking Joint European Torus (JET) and the cutting edge Remote Applications in Challenging Environments (RACE) facility. These tours will be led by engineers, scientists and technicians, who are currently working on the experiments – so you are guaranteed a genuine insight into what it’s like to work in fusion and have the opportunity to directly ask our passionate researchers anything about our work here at UKAEA.
You are welcome to attend with friends and family, but please note there is a maximum of 10 tickets per group. There is a minimum age limit of 12 years old. Anyone under the age of 18 must be accompanied by a responsible adult.
This event is now fully booked.
ATOM Presents.....at Harwell Campus
Thursday March 20th
Sorry - this event is now fully booked
Guided Visitors Tour "Harwell Past and Present"
Starts 11am
Arrive at the Thomson Car Park at 10.55am
Adult ticket £2.50 Under 18s £2.00
The official walking tour of the Harwell Campus sold out within hours when offered at the last ATOM Festival 2024 so we have asked if we can offer it again. Harwell have kindly arranged a slightly different tour which compares the past and present of Harwell. Approx. half an hour of flat walking is involved.
ATOM Presents.....at Harwell Campus
Thursday March 20th
Lucy Jane Santos
"What think you, Your Majesty?"
Starts 6pm
Use visitor parking at the Thomson Car Park
Adult ticket £5.00 Under 18s £2.50
Lucy Jane Santos will be giving a talk based on her extensive knowledge of the Atomic Age in which Harwell played a key role
"What think you, Your Majesty?.” Quacks, Medical Radium and Harwell
What was the pull of radium treatments that compelled Mr Notcutt to petition King George, seeking intervention to circumvent the changing regulations around the use of the radioactive substance in consumer products? This talk uncovers the fascinating yet perilous history of radium and uranium in medical treatments, with a particular focus on the notorious Q-Ray electro-radioactive compress.
ATOM Presents.....at Abindon Museum
Friday March 21st
Starts 11.30am
Kempster Room, Museum Basement, OIX14 3HG
Free event but booking is advised
Sorry - this event is now fully booked
"Atomics to Medieval Knights"
by Mike Evans of the Fitzharris Estate Residents Association
Booking is possible at the Museum Reception Desk or by phone on 01235 523703
ATOM Presents.....Workshops at the Guildhall
Saturday March 22nd
Roysse Room, Abingdon Guildhall
ATOM's Family Workshops Day Two
Ibrick Sessions with House of Fun
Science for kids through the interactive power of Lego!
Tickets £2.50 per child place on one workshop. Please note this is not a creche facility and a parent/carer will need to accompany the child and stay in the building while the workshop is going on.
click here for more information and to book a place for your child
ATOM presents...Family activities with One Planet Abingdon
Sunday March 23rd
meet at One Planet Climate Emergency Centre (Museum basement)
Booking not required
Hands On the Planet!
Explore local ecology, discover the mysteries of the soil and find out how global warming happens.
Our partners at One Planet Abingdon are hosting a family day with interactive workshops, some outdoors and some indoors, and the distinct possibility of cake in between!
Booking not required.
ATOM Presents.....at the Amey Theatre
Monday March 24th
Doors open at 7pm
Presentations start at 7.30pm
The Amey Theatre, Abingdon School
FameLab Academy Oxfordshire Finals
ATOM celebrated our 10th anniversary by launching the Oxfordshire FameLab Academy in 2024. As we move into our second decade schools across Oxfordshire are invited to enter the competition to be the best young science communicator.
Booking not required.
For more information click here
ATOM Presents.....at the Amey Theatre
Tuesday March 25th
7.30pm | Doors open at 7pm
The Amey Theatre, Abingdon School
Mark Simmonds OBE
The Whale-Human Interface
Whales are remarkable. Not only are some species gigantic but many are great travellers, regularly migrating across more than half of our planet. They mainly perceive their world through sound and hearing, and we are still discovering more about them, including finding new species! The histories of human and whale populations have long been intertwined and in this presentation Mark will reflect on the extent of our current knowledge and how the nature of our inter-species interactions have changed overtime. He will highlight key aspects of cetacean biology and current challenges, informed by his work on their conservation and welfare.
more details and speaker biography.
ATOM Presents.....at the Amey Theatre
Wednesday March 26th
7.30pm | Doors open at 7pm
The Amey Theatre, Abingdon School
The Peagram Lecture
Professor Tony Hey CBE
Einstein, Bohr and John Bell: Entanglement, Hidden Variables and Quantum Computers
Chief Data Scientist at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Tony Hey will explore the early days of quantum theory, the stalemate between Bohr and Einstein and the possible common sense solution put forward by Bell. The progress of quantum computing - "not a Turing machine" - will be reported by someone working in the dynamic centre of current work on the "quantum universe".
more details and speaker biography
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