The University is hosting a free public festival on Saturday 19 March where you can explore new and exciting research about health and wellbeing.
From having your face 3D scanned through to learning more about how joint replacements work, the Be Curious Festival is taking over the iconic Parkinson Building for the day to celebrate people’s natural curiosity about how their bodies work.
The day will run from 10am – 4pm and involve free short talks about common health issues, such as how to combat back pain and dealing with blood pressure, as well as fun family activities.
Charlotte Haigh, one of the organisers of Be Curious, said: “We have lots planned, catering for all ages, where kids can learn about how an MRI scanner works or where they can take samples of the inside of cheeks to look at them through a microscope.
“The whole family can even lay down in our huge inflatable planetarium to watch a film about how the body works.
“This festival is for anyone who is curious about what we can do to improve our wellbeing and how best to stay healthy. There is no need to book, just come along and join us on the day.”
There will also be five guided trails around the University, leaving every half hour from the Parkinson Building.
Highlights include:
- Visiting our scientific and medical museum, and tasting food from medieval recipes, to learn more about health and wellbeing through time.
- Seeing how we can virtually support our health and wellbeing, such as how we could use robots in care homes and how we can use maths to understand the immune system.
- Taking a look at surgical technologies and meeting Frank, the cycling skeleton, who demonstrates how new hip and joint replacements work.
- Hands-on interactive activities aimed at all ages to look at how we work as humans, such as how our brains control our bodies.
- Visiting our pop-up café to see if we can identify smells or experiencing the effect music has on health and wellbeing.
In the evening, there will also be a theatre show in the Clothworkers Centenary Hall on campus, by award-winning playwright Judith Johnson.
People Are Messy is a comedy drama examining the complexities of patient and public involvement in health and social care research. Suitable for ages 14+, the story is told through the eyes of two teenagers with very different ways of confronting a future made uncertain by a serious medical condition. For more details, see the Theatre of Debate website.
Devised and produced by Theatre of Debate, with support from NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre and the Wellcome Trust, it aims to inspire debate about the practical, ethical and social issues around decision-making and health research.
Admission is free, but booking is required.
The Be Curious event is running during the Leeds Festival of Science.
Further information
All age groups are welcome. There is no need to book, just come along the Be Curious Festival. Free parking is available.