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Royals to celebrate UK scientists Palace opens its doors to science
(about 11 hours later)
The Queen and other members of the Royal Family are to celebrate the achievements of UK scientists with an exhibition at Buckingham Palace. Buckingham Palace has welcomed scientists, interactive displays and experiments to celebrate science.
More than 800 students have been invited to view the displays, highlighting advances in fields such as medicine, engineering and space study. More than 800 GCSE and A Level students filled the grand ballroom for Science Day, which aims to inspire enjoyment and excitement in the subject.
Among the displays will be a replica of a dinosaur-era reptile, the pterosaur, suspended from the palace's ceiling. Amid the chandeliers, a replica of a dinosaur-era reptile, the pterosaur, was suspended from the ceiling.
The Queen will also open the Smith Centre at London's Science Museum. The displays highlighted advances in fields such as medicine, engineering and space exploration.
Mars tour 'Spectacular'
She is expected to unveil a plaque and attend a reception with benefactors and staff for the centre, a space for receptions, talks and conferences. Exhibitions at the palace included the Secret Life of Diving Mammals and How to Build a Human.
What we want to show is that science is about solving problems and about explaining about the way the world works Stephen Cox, Royal Society The event at Buckingham Palace will be manned by more than 100 scientists. Professor Colin Pillinger, who headed the team that developed the Beagle space probe that was lost during an attempt to land on Mars, said the palace event was "absolutely spectacular".
Those involved hope to inspire the students with a sense of the enjoyment and excitement of science. It's amazing, it looks like the place was made for exhibitions like this," he said.
The life-size pterosaur is expected to be one of the more eye-catching displays and will be suspended in the palace's ballroom where investitures normally take place. He was showing a collection of cartoons called Mars in their Eyes, highlighting the quest to explore the red planet.
A virtual reality tour of Mars will also be on offer, as will be a skeleton and an exhibit entitled, "There's more to plants than petals". He said it was important to show that scientists had a sense of humour.
In the evening, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh will host a Buckingham Palace reception for 500 members of the British scientific community including Professor Stephen Hawking and Carol Vorderman, co-host of Channel 4's Countdown programme. "If they could learn something about life through our mistakes then that's great," he said.
'Not peculiar' He said the question most students had asked him was whether there was going to be another Beagle expedition.
The event has been organised with support from the Royal Society, the Royal Academy of Engineering, the Natural History Museum, the Science Museum, Research Councils UK and the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851. "I hope there will be, I have not given up yet," he said.
Stephen Cox, executive secretary of the Royal Society, said: "This is a great opportunity to show science as something that is a really perfectly normal activity and not something peculiar. What we want to show is that science is about solving problems and about explaining about the way the world works Stephen Cox, Royal Society
"There's the general feeling that somehow science creates problems, rather than solves them. Araventhy Nanthanan, 16, from Burntwood secondary school in Wandsworth, south London who is studying A-level chemistry and physics, was among the students at the event.
"So what we want to show is that science is about solving problems and about explaining about the way the world works. "It's really fun," he said. "I didn't think that everything would be so interactive. There's a lot more technology. It's strange to see it all at Buckingham Palace."
"It's really to get over the enjoyment and excitement of science, and having the exhibition in Buckingham Palace adds something extra." 'Solving problems'
Science Day was organised with support from the Royal Society, the Royal Academy of Engineering, the Natural History Museum, the Science Museum, Research Councils UK and the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851.
Stephen Cox, executive secretary of the Royal Society, said: "There's the general feeling that somehow science creates problems, rather than solves them.
"So what we want to show is that science is about solving problems and about explaining about the way the world works."
He said there was a need to encourage more students to take up sciences, and that he was also worried about the numbers of people teaching subjects like maths and physics.He said there was a need to encourage more students to take up sciences, and that he was also worried about the numbers of people teaching subjects like maths and physics.
In the evening, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh will host a Buckingham Palace reception for 500 members of the British scientific community including Professor Stephen Hawking and Carol Vorderman, co-host of Channel 4's Countdown programme.