Students to take part in spectacular family science show in Winchester this weekend

Physics and Astronomy students are taking part in a spectacular science show for the whole family at the Theatre Royal Winchester on Sunday 27 October.

Accelerate! is an exciting, live-action event all about particle physics designed for 11–18 year-olds and the general public. Through a series of hands-on demonstrations, you’ll learn how to drive a particle accelerator, from the thousands of small machines which are used in medicine and industry, to the enormous 27 km ring of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in Switzerland.

Accelerate! has been designed for the general public by the University of Oxford and rolled out for performance by other universities in the South East Physics Network (SEPnet), including the University of Southampton.

The University of Southampton’s Accelerate! show team is led by Joe Spencer, a researcher in Physics working with cutting-edge laser technology. The other team members are Tobius Tsang, a theoretical particle physicist linked to scientists working with the LHC, and Olivia Kennan, a PhD student studying Astronomy. Olivia says: “Working with Accelerate! is such an exciting way to stay involved in multi-disciplinary physics.”

Accelerate! forms part of the 10 Days: Creative Collisions event, a contemporary arts project where local schools have explored the theme of ‘Creative Collisions’ through a programme of physics, visual art and creative writing workshop.

The Theatre Royal Winchester is one of the venues for 10 Days and, in addition to Accelerate!, will also be hosting one of 10 specially commissioned prints in the foyer and also the satellite project Zero Twelve, where a group of artists (Elizabeth Saunders, Ann Smith, Consuelo Simpson and Jeryl Church) invite the public to join in creating a huge woven structure in the front window of the theatre.

Tickets are £6 and can be booked from the Box Office 01962 840 440 or online.