The Warwick Christmas Lectures 2022
1st and 8th December – 7pm | Age 8+
Warwick Christmas Lectures return and are bigger and more fun than ever! Scientists from the University of Warwick leave their labs to entertain and amaze audiences with experiments and research that makes us scratch our heads and scream from our seats.
This year over two inspiring evenings we’ll hunt for new planets, create life in a magic beaker, put chemistry in the freezer and be taken on an adventure with a Brussels Sprout! We’ll also open our first ever Live Labs in our foyer spaces from 6pm, so you can get up close and hands on with real-life science before the Christmas Lectures begin.
So, pull on your Christmas jumper, bring your family members or friends and join us for some mind-boggling science and explosive experiments! To book your tickets for the lectures, head over to the Warwick Arts Centre website HERE.
For a taster of what to expect, you can watch the 2020 lectures online HERE.
The Christmas Lectures is a collaboration between Warwick Arts Centre, University of Warwick’s Department of Physics and China Plate Theatre. With thanks to the Warwick Institute of Engagement for the Live Labs.
© Katie Neeves
Lecture topics include:
Thursday 1 December
Dr Alex Baker
Every single human is an amazing example of why chemistry matters. But how many chemical reactions does the human body carry out every second? And what happens if we change the temperature and put chemistry in the freezer? Join Alex and co. as they freeze and fry their way through some fascinating chemistry and show why chemistry matters.
Dr Rebecca Nealon
How do planets form?
The planets in our solar system represent the last part of a very long story of planet formation. Importantly, each of the planets around our Sun are different – each has something about it that makes it special. So how do we get different kinds of planets when they are all made from the same starting stuff? I will answer this question by telling the full story of planet formation and even show you were you can find evidence of this long story on Earth today.
Dr Peter Sadler
I will try to create life in my magic beaker. But which substances in the earth and the air do I need? I might ask you to help me decide.
Thursday 8 December
Dr Phil Jemmet
Santa has a problem. He’s worried about climate change and carbon dioxide emissions so he has asked our engineers to help with his sleigh. We’ll be looking at electrifying Santa and making Christmas green. Phil will be asking the audience what makes something efficient, and which would smell worse – the emissions of an engine or a team of reindeer?
Dr Lauren Doyle
Have you ever wondered if there could be other life in the universe? For the past two decades astronomers have discovered thousands of exoplanets orbiting other stars outside of our solar system. It’s quite rare for astronomers to see an exoplanet through their telescopes the way you might observe Saturn from Earth. So how do we find all these exoplanets? In this talk I will take you through the steps to finding your own exoplanet and discuss what finding them means!
Warwick Crop Centre
The adventures of a Brussel Sprout
Thursday 1 and 8 December from 6pm: Live Lab in the foyers
If you want to get up close and hands-on with a variety of science topics then Live Labs is the place for you. We have stalls of science and science-related activities suitable for people aged five and up, using things like liquid nitrogen, marker pens and rubber ducks to get you hands-on with science.