The elements of the Olympic medals and the building blocks of Classical civilisation. To some, they brought riches; to others, ruin. What will they bring you?

This special late night event will have activities, talks, performance and live experiments happening all over the building.

A lustrous evening of myth, music, debate and messy play.

This event is free. Drop in anytime. 

Performance

• Settle down for a mythic story with Marina Warner and Vayu Naidu
• Enjoy our very own smashing, crashing Bronzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, as they explore the different sounds that these metals create.
• Enjoy science songs from Jonny Berliner.
• Operatic tenor Stephen Miles will serenade with songs of gold and silver.

 

Demonstrations, activities, experiment  

• Watch out for our gold assayer who will be ready to tell you if that precious ring is made of the real thing.
• Learn the intricacies of making silver wire with Jamie Hall.
• Meet Marcos Martinón-Torres, a modern-day alchemist.
• Find out how batteries work.
• Get an insight into one of Archimedes’ most famous experiments with Martin Coath.
• Find out how to cast tin with the Institute of Making.
• Meet a silversmith, David Clarke.
• Discover the role that colloids have in making stained glass.
• Make your own silver photogram.

 

Talks and debate – tickets available from 19.00 from the Information Point.

• Adventures in Greek and Roman metallurgy with Edith Hall.
• Join the UCL Debating Society as they argue the merits and human costs of metal mining.
• Chemical, physical and musical metals: live experiments with Andrew Szydlo.
• This event has been curated by Hugh Aldersey-Williams and Andrea Sella

 

Contributors:

Jonny Berliner, science troubadour

Bronzo Dog Doo-Dah Band

David Clarke, silversmith

Martin Coath, Public Engagement Coordinator and Post Doctoral Research Fellow at the Plymouth University Cognition Institute

Martin Conreen and Zoe Laughlin, Institute of Making, UCL

Ruth Fillery-Travis, UCL Institute of Archeology

Edith Hall, Professor of Classics at King’s College London

Jamie Hall, medieval metalworking specialist

Crispin Hughes, photographer

Marcos Martinón-Torres, Senior Lecturer at UCL Institute of Archaeology

Stephen Miles, tenor

Vayu Naidu, storyteller and Artistic Director of Vayu Naidu Storytelling Company

Andrew Szydlo, chemistry teacher and live demonstration expert

Andres Tretiakov, Science Technician, St Paul’s School

UCL Debating Society

Marina Warner, Professor of Literature at the University of Essex, author of ‘Stranger Magic: Charmed states & the Arabian Nights’

With thanks to UCL students