This year at the Great Exhibition Road Festival, fellows from the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 (RC1851 Fellows) collaborated with Big Ideas to present the 1815der Tent. The RC1851 Fellowships provide funding and support for early career scientists or engineers to conduct research into their specific field.
Over a six-month period, the RC1851 Fellows worked with Big Ideas to translate their pioneering science and engineering research projects into interactive exhibits to display at the festival. Each exhibit enhanced visitors’ understanding of their research, and had memorable souvenirs for people to take home to encourage further exploration and learning beyond the tent.
This year the 1851der Tent (pronounced eighteen fifty wonder) displayed four exhibits created by five RC1851 Fellows that were engaging, exciting and informative for people of all ages. More information about the researchers can be found here.
Penguin Party
Festival goers were invited to experience life from the perspective of a penguin breeding in Antarctica. Choosing from a fiery Adélie penguin, a chilled Gentoo, a stylish Chinstrap, or a magnificent Emperor, visitors could. colour in their chosen species and add it to the ‘colony’ to see how it fares in an interactive game!
Learning from Conservation Scientist Jasmine Lee, visitors could hear about threats to penguins from global climate change, local pollution, increased fishing and other human activities, and how humans can protect them and help them to survive into the future!
Brains and Beyond
In this exhibit people could look at their own nervous system in action and learn more about the complex web of highways that carries messages between our brains and bodies, based on research being conducted by Amparo Güemes Gonzalez. Visitors could try on an electroencephalogram and see their own brain waves on a screen.
Stellar Streams
One of the greatest mysteries of the Cosmos is dark matter. We can not see it, weigh it, measure it or observe it in any way – even though there are millions to billions of dark matter particles flying through us each second.
With the help of research fellows Alexander Riley and Ruta Czaplinska visitors could learn about the patterns made by ‘stellar streams’ and how we can observe dark matter’s gravitational pull on stars and the Milky Way. This interactive exhibit used marbles to represent stars. This structure had a weight at its centre, connected to a pulley system that allowed visitors to change the weight’s depth representing gravity in space. By adjusting this depth, the shape of the circle changed, affecting the marbles’ orbits and creating varied, mesmerising paths – highlighting how stellar streams are formed.
Lucid Life
Chris Bellamy showcased his research through living chairs and bioluminescent algae.
The living willow chairs were made using traditional British techniques to grow living willow branches into the shape of a chair and drew in an excited audience keen to sit in these ‘living chairs’.
Festival attendees were invited to explore bioluminescent algae which lights up when it responds to movement. Hundreds of vials of algae were taken home by visitors, these samples of algae can live on windowsills for up to two years and will light up in the evenings when shaken.
“What a lovely educational surprise!” – Festival Goer
Other RC1851 Fellow volunteered to faciliate at the festival, you can read more about them and their own research here.
Also on display were panels detailing the rich history and origin of the Royal Commission of 1851, you can read more about the history of the Royal Commission here. Royal Commission Archivist, Angela Kenny, was available to answer further questions from the public over the festival weekend.
There was a fantastic engagement with the 1851der tent, with over 5500 adults, families and young people enjoying and exploring the scientific concepts of the exhibits.
The 1851der Tent offered the public an accessible and enjoyable fusion of scientific innovation and engagement. The resonant feedback from both festival goers and participating fellows proves the powerful role of the 1851der Tent at the festival.
“I gained a lot of practice reading how well my explanations were coming across, and whether I should slow down or speed through details for important bits.” – Fellow
The Great Exhibition Road Festival is a free two-day celebration of curiosity, discovery and exploration in South Kensington, with partners and institutions across the South Kensington Estate hosting special events and exhibitions during that time.
With thanks to the Royal Commission for the Exhibition 1851, the Award Holders and the Great Exhibition Road Festival.