European Science Week and the Year of Physics (Einstein Year in the UK) provided the opportunity to stage a distinctive event, in which the European dimension and interaction with other groups in Europe played a key role. With a particular focus on Physics, the Edinburgh event included the University of Edinburgh's School of Physics, the e-Science Centre, the Institute for Astronomy, the Centre for Science at Extreme Conditions and those areas of science which are underpinned by Physics-derived understanding, such as Earth and Planetary Science, and new areas of Biotechnology and Medicine.

The SCI-FUN Roadshow provided a selection of hands-on activities, complemented by demonstrations from the School of Physics, which illustrated the range and quality of the university's research activity. The PP4SS Particle Physics project also presented its suite of exhibits for schools, including the recent Muon Lifetime experiment at Cairn Gorm.

Exhibits and displays described the legacy of famous scientists such as Einstein and his hero, Edinburgh-born James Clerk Maxwell.

The images below (as well as the panorama above) will give you a flavour of the event...

An exhibit from the Acoustics and Fluid Dynamics Group: artificial lips	A wavetank, illustrating the properties of breaking waves; from Fluid Dynamics...
Investigating the properties of musical instruments (and playing up to the camera)	Pupils from one of the schools attending the Edinburgh Kids' University event
2005/6 SCI-FUN presenter Emily Dodd explains the mysteries of particle accelerators; part of the PP4SS exhibits	The gyrowheel, one of the many SCI-FUN Roadshow exhibits used in the event

Talks and Shows

Each session ended with a short talk or show:

• Miniature Displays (including the world's smallest TV screen), by Professor Ian Underwood, Director of Strategic Marketing at MicroEmissive Displays;
• Climate change and global warming, by Doctor Helen Kettle of the Institute of Atmospheric and Environmental Science;
• Speaking to Aliens, a talk on the speed of light and the problems of communication with extraterrestrials, by Bob Kibble of the department of Curriculum Research & Development at The University of Edinburgh (see just how quick Bob is, in the image below);
• Spooky Science, a presentation of one of SCI-FUN's 2005/6 shows.

One of the LERU talks, by three Bob Kibbles...

Poster Quiz

During the hands-on session, pupils had the opportunity to take part in a short quiz, based on the ten Kids' University posters. Winners' prizes were presented at the graduation event, described below.