What's On at ATOM Festival '25
March 15th - March 26th
ATOM Science Market Day
Saturday March 15th 10am - 3pm
Abingdon Market Place
Free event
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.....at the Guildhall
Saturday March 15th
While the Science Market is going on outside there we also usually run films and talks inside the Guildhall. We are looking for science organisations who want to show videos or give a talk about their work to a family aucience.
Please contact us at newenquiries@atomfestival.org.uk
Science Market Day .....in the Museum
Saturday 15th March
Abingdon Museum
Free event
Abingdon Museum are currently making plans to offer talks and activities in the Museum on Science Market day.
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 click here
ATOM Talk
Sunday 16th March
7pm | Doors open at 6.30pm
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
Macular Degeneration can occur at any age. It may be inherited or caused by degenerative, infective, inflammatory, toxic or other processes. Descriptions of the retina were recorded probably the earliest in 300-400 BCE, and since then imaging technology has revolutionised our ability to visualise the retina in health and disease. Numerous conditions affecting the macula have been described. The macula is the central part of the retina, which is located at the back of the eye, and measures about 5mm across. Its presence enables us to see print, recognise faces and distinguish colours and detail. Different modalities have enabled high resolution imaging of the macula, its components, and any structural changes. Innovations in functional assessment have contributed to the characterisation of different diseases affecting the macula. Disorders of the macula can occur at any age with nearly 1.5 million individuals being affected by a macular condition in the UK. The symptoms range from blurred and distorted central vision to loss of central vision. The most common macular condition is age related macular degeneration usually occurring after the age of 65 years and in the UK affecting approximately 600,000 individuals in the UK with 196 million worldwide in 2020 recorded to be affected. For the wet type timely and frequent treatments (around 700,000 a year in the NHS) are required, with a significant impact on healthcare resources. Childhood onset inherited macular degeneration such as Stargardt disease, affects 1 in 10000. Macular conditions clearly have a huge impact on the individual. A short overview of the current management and treatment approaches for these conditions, with reference to genetic testing, potential therapeutic intervention, and advances in diagnosis and treatment will be given.
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.....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
ATOM presents...Family activities with One Planet Abingdon
Sunday March 23rd
Outdoors and in the Kempster Room - meet at One Planet Climate Emergency Centre (Museum basement)
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!
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.
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
ATOM Presents.....at Harwell Campus
tbc
Harwell Campus
The Harwell Campus Heritage Trail
Guided Walking Tour
The official walking tour of the Harwell Campus sold out within hours when offered at ATOM Festival 2024 so we have asked if we can offer it again.
More information on here before February.
Print 