Mark Records the Ri Christmas Lectures
17 December 2010
Last night Martin and I had a ring-side seat at the second of three Christmas lectures for children that Mark was giving at the Royal Institution. Hundreds of excitable teenagers filled the magnificent auditorium and were treated to an evening of masterfully presented science demonstrations. The title of the lecture was Why Chocolate Melts and Jet Planes Don't and featured Mark exploring the world of crystals and revealing that “the magic is in the microstructure”.
The fact that the show was being recorded for television meant that we occasionally felt more like a studio audience than a live performance audience but the delight of seeing Mark struggle with an ear-piece piping directors comments into his ear more than made up for any stopping and starting. As I tweeted at the time... what a pro, what a show! We were so proud to see him do what he does best –get up in front of people and enthuse about science.
All three of the lectures will be screened on BBC 4 on the 28th, 29th and 30th of December at 8pm. If you are planning to tune in on the 29th, be sure to have some chocolate to hand so you can join in with the mass taste test.
Zoe
Behind the scenes of lecture 1: