The deadline for proposals is just four short weeks away so if you want to be part of the fantastic Festival of Learning in 2015 then make sure you get your thinking cap on soon!

Remember you can find out more about what the Festival of Learning is and how to submit your proposal by looking at our help pages here.

To inspire you I’ve collected together a couple of some interesting events I’ve seen recently,

Science Ceilidh

For those of you not familiar with the concept of a Ceilidh, it’s a type of Scottish folk dancing.  This band have found a way to combine their passion for music with their love of science to provide an innovative way of telling the public about concepts such as the circulatory system and cancer through the medium of dance.  Take a look at a video of their work here.

DEADinburgh

Another event from the creative geniuses up in Scotland, DEADinburgh is an event in which the last remaining uninfected population of Edinburgh hear from scientists about topics such as Zombie Psychology, epidemic control, ethics of slaughtering the undead, before voting on whether or not to cull the Zombies as the epidemic is spreading through the streets or search for a cure in order to save the city.  Costumes are involved.  As awesome as this sounds just in a fictional sense, it also draws parallels to the real issues we face with epidemics such as HIV and Ebola making it a truly thought provoking and vital event that encourages participants to question “what it meas to be human”.

These events both show unique ways of communicating research to the public using music and theater.  If this is something you’d like to explore feel free to get in touch.

You can also find the public engagement team at the Retreat this Monday as we’ll attending the R&KEO coffee morning from 9.30-10.30am.  We’ll be there to offer advice, support and even just a second opinion on what can make your Festival of Learning proposal successful.