A Deep Dive into Human.Kind…

Family science, creative and story day for children and adults at Holborn Library Join us for a great day of science discovery, craft, workshops and storytelling. What is a human? What does it mean to be kind? Take part in pop-up exhibitions, games and activities with some of London’s leading science teams including scientists from UCL, Moorfields and Great Ormond Street Hospital research teams.

All activities are drop in between 11am – 4pm, unless otherwise noted.

SCIENCE, EXHIBITIONS & ACTIVITIES

(For all ages, science activities aimed at 8+)

How a DJ can save your life
Great Ormond Street Hospital and partners share music/DJing to help explain coding and statistics. Dr Dale Kirkwood—an emergency doctor by day, DJ by night—blends music with data science to show how different skills can come together to save lives. He draws unique parallels between the way DJ controllers and software unify music for performances worldwide, and how creating common data models can streamline and revolutionise health data research. Just like DJs with a USB stick, researchers can ‘plug in’ to these models much more readily. Enabling life-saving discoveries in a more secure manner whilst more efficient. Join DJ Dale as he demonstrates how the structure of music and the ‘coding’ of data can come together to benefit Human.Kind—one beat and one byte at a time.

Robotics and Soft Haptics – UCL’s Mechanical Engineering teams bring a driving behaviour simulator and soft haptics display – which allows tech to imitate touch.

• What’s safe to do while your car drives itself?
  Commissioned by the Department for Transport (DfT) and the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV) in collaboration with 7th Sense Research UK Ltd., and Loughborough University. Eating, drinking, and playing a game while driving in an automated vehicle is an exciting prospect for many. As self-driving technology in automated vehicles advances, we present our work on understanding which tasks are safe for drivers to engage in during non-driving periods, and which may be affecting a driver’s ability to take back control quickly.
• Technology enabling realistic touch
  Touch plays a crucial role in all of our lives, from being able to successfully reach for a coffee cup without spilling it to being able to feel the temperature of an object. However, there are many people who have lost the sensation of touch, or have diminished sensitivity in their fingertips and hands, which makes everyday tasks more of a challenge. Researchers led by Dr Sara Abad and Professor Helge Wurdemann from University College London (UCL), will showcase a new technology that enables the delivery of realistic feedback, simulating touch as natural as real-life sensations. The device will offer new insights into the complexities of how we experience touch, as well as provide ways that we might improve the lives of those who have lost the sensation.

What Makes you Human? What Makes You Kind? Can one exist without the other?
UCL PEARL ask you the questions and then challenge you and AI to make an artistic response. Write a poem or create a drawing about what it means to be Human.Kind.

Design Your Own Cleaner Streets NIHR Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) North Thames
Explore how you can plan for less traffic in your street and create a better solution for pollution!

No One Left Behind – NIHR Moorfields Biomedical Research Centre
A group of animals need to cross different terrains using their characteristics, tools and kindness for one another. Play our game to discover how and why this is the same for our eye scientists in their research work.
What is ‘being kind’ in research? No one left behind. In our game, we work out how people who work in eye research can plan their study so that everyone is included fairly. Not everyone is the same or has the same needs, so how do we, and how will you, ensure everyone gets over the finish line together?

About the Brain – CRAE – the Centre for Research in Autism and Education, UCL
A pop-up exhibition stall with experiments and explanations about our brains with researchers from CRAE on hand to talk about our research on the superior perceptual capacity in autism.
CRAE is a team of autistic and non-autistic people. We conduct ground-breaking scientific research to enhance our knowledge about support, education and outcomes for autistic people, their families and those who support them. Our mission is to improve the lives of autistic people and their families through research. We invite you to visit our pop-up research stall! Here, you can ask any questions you have and participate in experiments that showcase the unique perceptual strengths observed in autistic folk.

STORYTELLING & BOOKS

Ross Montgomery – Children’s Author Event
(Aimed at children aged 5 -12, but open to all ages)
11.45am – 12.45pm
An exciting author event with award winning author Ross Montgomery. Use your imagination. Ross will inspire you to see the world in a new light, showing how unusual, exciting, and strange life can be. Life is the starting point of stories! This event will encourage children to use their imagination and to enhance language skills. In addition, there will be a smaller activity available for younger children. Don’t miss this wonderful opportunity to ignite your child’s creativity and love for storytelling!

Introducing Caribbean Books
Writers of Colour Book Club Caribbean Book Club Session
(Adult focussed discussion)
11am – 12 noon
Come and join us to share your thoughts about Monique Roffey’s  The Mermaid of a Black Conch.
‘It’s a book that captured my heart the first time I read it and for my fellow fans of magical realism, I can confidently say that you will love this story. Often heart-breaking and yet also soul-restoring, this is a captivating tale of friendship, love and transformation.’ Tamera Heron, Bloomsbury Festival Book Club Lead and founder of Cold Islanders.

Caribbean book exhibition stall – In the Grip of Change: the Caribbean and its British Diaspora
The team from Senate House Library introduce their new exhibition of 20th and 21st-century Caribbean book collections including Pamphlets, political leaflets, calypsos, literature, poetry, badges and more explain how the nations moved from colonies to independent countries. The exhibition opens on 28 October 2024 and you can sign up here for a community tour of the exhibition at the Senate House Library

FAMILY WORKSHOPS

Being Dyslexic – UCL Institute of Education
We invite people with dyslexia (including parents of people with dyslexia) to join us to talk about your own experiences and to take part in activities.
Having dyslexia is a prevalent human condition that affects many aspects of people’s lives as parents, children and adults. This event allows those affected to better understand their condition and be heard. This is an interactive science event where we invite you into a space to share your experiences of dyslexia and take part in some activities which measure cognitive ability. With team members from UCL Institute of Education

The Science of Art – Creative Art Workshop
Creative art workshop for adults and children. Draw your emotions. Transform Your feelings. Led by Ayse Akarca, an associate research fellow at UCL and an artist.
Drop in, 11.30am – 1.30pm

Origami – SOAS Origami
An open origami paper folding workshop where we will show you how to fold various models related to human form.

Lego Dream City
An exciting build and create session – help build a dream city. For ages 4-14 years old (with accompanying adult).
Drop in, 3pm – 4pm