Education

The Story Of William Smith

The story of how a canal engineer’s observations of rock layers led to the discovery of stratigraphic succession and revolutionised our understanding of Earth’s history.

William Smith (1769–1839), often called the “Father of English Geology,” transformed how we understand Earth’s deep past by realising that rock layers follow a consistent order—and that fossils within them can be used to identify and correlate those layers across long distances. Crucially, this …

Talk: Yes | Workshop: Yes | Course: No | Audience: Public, Families

Attenborough and the Robotic Plesiosaur

A behind-the-scenes look at how a robotic plesiosaur research project made it to television, revealing the science, engineering, and filmmaking collaboration behind its first filmed swim.

Discover why the world’s most celebrated natural history filmmaker visited a basement lab at Imperial to meet aeronautical engineer Dr Luke Edward Muscutt and his extraordinary robotic plesiosaur. This talk tells the story behind that unusual encounter, explaining what drew a major documentary produ…

Talk: Yes | Workshop: No | Course: No | Audience: Public

Recreating the Loch Ness monster

A captivating journey through 200 years of art, science, and technology showing how discoveries and modern engineering are transforming mythical sea monsters into scientifically accurate reconstructions of prehistoric marine reptiles.

Journey through 200 years of prehistoric sea monsters in art and science, and discover how our vision of ancient marine reptiles has evolved from imaginative sketches to evidence-based reconstructions. This talk explores how early fossil discoveries inspired dramatic interpretations of long-necked “…

Talk: Yes | Workshop: No | Course: No | Audience: Public

Hydrodynamics of Plesiosaurs

An engaging look at the 200-year scientific quest to understand how four-flippered plesiosaurs swam, featuring the history of research and new insights .

Plesiosaurs are the only animals known to have four large flippers, yet exactly how they used them remained a mystery that puzzled palaeontologists for over 200 years. Early interpretations ranged from turtle-like rowing to penguin-style underwater flight, with each new fossil discovery and biomecha…

Talk: Yes | Workshop: No | Course: No | Audience: Public, Families, Primary School, High School, Sixthform, College, Undergraduate, Graduate, Professional

Engineering of the Music Box

A fascinating talk exploring how mechanics, electronics, and control systems combine to turn punched paper into live, perfectly timed acoustic music you can see as well as hear.

This talk explores the complete engineering journey behind a robotic music box, from initial concept through design, manufacture, and testing. Beginning with the mechanical principles that allow motion to become music, it explains how the instrument’s core components—tines, rollers, drive systems, a…

Talk: Yes | Workshop: No | Course: No | Audience: Public, Families, Primary School, High School, Sixthform, College, Undergraduate,

The Engineering of Archery

An engaging exploration of the physics and design principles behind different bow types, revealing how ancient archery technology showcases sophisticated engineering in action.

The Engineering of Archery is an engaging talk that explores how one of humanity’s oldest technologies demonstrates sophisticated engineering principles in action. Across cultures and centuries, bow makers have refined their designs to balance power, efficiency, accuracy, and durability. This sessio…

Talk: Yes | Workshop: Yes | Course: No | Audience: Sixthform, College, Undergraduate,

Engineering Course for Boaters

A beginner-friendly, hands-on workshop that teaches canal boaters how their onboard systems work and how to maintain them safely and confidently.

Engineering for Boaters is a one-day, hands-on workshop created for first-time canal boaters who want to understand and confidently manage the essential engineering systems on board. Designed for beginners, the day breaks down technical topics into clear, practical explanations and demonstrations, h…

Talk: No | Workshop: Yes | Course: No | Audience: Public, Boaters

How to be a Boater

A practical and entertaining guide to getting started with canal-boat life, covering buying, navigating, living aboard, and joining the boating community.

How to Be a Boater is a lively and engaging talk for anyone who’s ever looked at a canal boat and wondered what life on the water is really like. If you’ve dreamed of swapping traffic jams for towpaths and morning alarms for misty sunrises over the cut, this session will show you how to turn that id…

Talk: Yes | Workshop: Yes | Course: No | Audience: Public

Engineering for Palaeontologists

An accessible introduction to how engineering principles like structural analysis and materials science help scientists reconstruct how extinct animals functioned, moved, and survived.

Engineering for Palaeontologists is an inspiring and accessible talk that explores how engineering thinking can transform the way we study ancient life. Fossils preserve shapes, structures, and traces—but engineering helps us understand how those structures actually functioned. By applying principle…

Talk: Yes | Workshop: Yes | Course: No | Audience: High School, Sixthform, College, Undergraduate, Graduate, Professional

Notes: Can be run as a 1 hour talk, a 3 hour workshop, or a 6 hour workshop

Fluid Mechanics for Palaeontologists

A hands-on introduction to using fluid-physics principles to analyse fossils and scientifically reconstruct how extinct animals moved, flew, and swam.

Fluid Mechanics for Paleontologists is an engaging talk/workshop that reveals how the physics of fluids can bring extinct creatures back to life—at least scientifically. Fossils tell us what ancient animals looked like, but fluid mechanics helps us understand how they moved, how fast they travelled…

Talk: Yes | Workshop: Yes | Course: No | Audience: High School, Sixthform, College, Undergraduate, Graduate, Professional