Cafe Scientifique for the Sidmouth Science Festival

What's in your noggin: get creative and curious about your brain

Friday 20th June 2025 10:00AM – 12:00PM

Location/Venue: Cellar Bar, Kennaway House, Sidmouth EX10 8NG

Join us for a hands-on, minds-on experience where neuroscience meets art. In this interactive workshop, you’ll create your own brain cells, hear fascinating stories of brain discovery, and uncover what really goes on inside your head – all inspired by Professor Richard Wingate’s book The Story of the Brain in 10 1/2 cells.

Hosted by neuroscientist Dr Leigh Wilson and Professor Richard Wingate (King’s College London), this unique event welcomes special guests Dr Bill Griesar and artist Jeff Leake from Northwest Noggin – a science outreach group from Oregon, USA, known for their dynamic blend of neuroscience, education and art.

Whether you’re simply curious or a budding brain buff, this is a rare opportunity to engage with experts, get creative, and deepen your understanding of how the brain works

Pioneers of Science podcast

Pioneers of Science (Pioniers van de Wetenschap) podcast. Richard Wingate with Pieter Vancamp and Lucas Mergan talking about the overlooked corners of neuroscience. Listen here on Spotify

Alien Intelligences - from Octopus to AI: BrainFacts Live! in Chicago

Forrest Collman (Allen Institute, Seattle) and Cassady Olson (Ragsdale Laboratory, University of Chicago) talk about digital, human and octopus intelligence, with a trivia quiz devised by Kaitlyn Cosimo (Allen Insitute) at the Haymarket Pub and Brewery, Chicago, October 7th 2024

Chaired by Richard Wingate

Journey to the Inner Cosmos: BrainFacts LIVE in Washington DC: November 12 2023

BrainFacts presents Journey to the Inner Cosmos with three fantastic speakers: Professors Damien Fair, Susanna Martinez-Conde and Joseph LeDoux along with Joe's band, The Amygdaloids, at the Right Proper Brewery's Shaw Brewpub and Restaurant, Washington DC. 

MC'ed by Richard Wingate

Waterstones best books of 2023

"The Story of the Cell..." is one of Waterstone's top ten popular science books of 2023 (Mathematics and Neurosciences)

"The Story of the Brain..." Italian edition

"Storia del cervello in dieci cellule e mezzo" by Richard Wingate, Giuliana Olivero (Translator), published by Bollati Bolinghieri (October 2023)

The Design of Science - at Imperial College

Panel discussion with Andrea Tse (Associate Director, Allies and Morrison Architects), Oscar Ces (Head of Chemistry, Imperial College) hosted by Lucy Wall (Science Communication MSc student) and Stephen Webster, Lead for the Good Science Project

Interview with Hugo Rifkind on TImes Radio

Interview with Hugo Rifkind on The Story of the Brain in 10 1/2 Cells as part of the Life Lessons slot on Times Radio.

Listen again - the interview starts at approximately 2h 22 min

"The Story of the Brain in 10½ Cells"

 

"The Story of the Brain in 10½ Cells" by Richard Wingate, published by Profile Books in association with the Wellcome Collection 

PSYCHE at the Science Gallery Bengaluru from April 1st

Richard Wingate academic advisor with Sanjeev Jain, Vikram Patel and Ulrike Klug for PSYCHE at the Science Gallery Bengaluru.

The programme opens with a public lecture on April 1 "Split Body, Synthetic Self: Excess and Emptiness" by Stelarc

What can Science offer the Arts: Tue, 30 Nov 2021 17:00 – 18:00

Panel discussion on what Science can offer the Arts hosted by the MediCulture Festival and Team London Bridge. Tickets can be reserved here. Chair Richard Wingate with Charlie Murphy (artist), Dr Leigh Wilson (public engagement expert), Dr Ali Hossaini (philospher and visiting fellow at King's College London) and Yinka Danmole (artist).

Watch a video on Sunnydown Synaptic and panel discussion here

Sunnydown Synaptic at the Old Operating Theatre

 

Sunnydown Synaptic is an innovative outreach project & exhibition bringing together neuroscience, electronic engineering and visual arts for a dynamic series of workshops with students from Sunnydown School in Surrey.

Synaptic collaboration between artist Charlie Murphy, engineer Robin Bussell, scientists Dr Leigh Wilson, Professor Richard Wingate, PhD students Sally Horton and Sara Ratti of the MRC Centre for Neurodevelopmental Disorders at King’s College London, and language and learning specialist, Jo Wood of Sunnydown School

12th November 2021- 29th January 2022

The Old Operating Theatre, 9a St Thomas Street, London, SE1 9RY

The Art of Neurobiology

 

Special Guest in the Risky Behavior podcast series. Listen now on Spotify

"Join Dr. Sweta Chakraborty and Dr. Taylor Wallace for happy hour as they explore controversial issues and address your health and wellness concerns, ranging from nutrition and climate change, to sex and prescription drugs. Together this dynamic duo will loosen lips and spill tea from the heart of Washington, D.C., with special expert guests you won't want to miss!"

Medical Culture Festival: The Drunken Botanist

 

Host for a discussion of "the Drunken Botanist" with author, Amy Stewart as part of the Medical Culture Festival -a collaboration between the Old Operating Theatre Museum, Florence nightingale museum, Southwark council, Guys and St Thomas hospital, Kings College and Team London Bridge. 

February 17th 2021

Two webinars on public engagement with Noggin NW

Two webinars recorded over the summer for Brainfacts.org with Noggin NW look at the how outreach can bond communities, Reconnecting our brain cells, one cell at a time, and simple ways to bring neuroscience out of the lab to a general audience Action and potential in education, outreach and research with Dr Leigh Wilson, Public Engagement Manager for Developmental Neurobiology at King's College London

Molyneux's problem on Brainfacts.org

Listen to a podcast on the famous Philosophical and Neuroscience problem posed by Molyneux in the late 1600's presented by Brainfacts.org Editor-in-Chief, Richard Wingate

Neuroanatomy Explorers at the Brain Awareness Campaign Event, Chicago 2019

Presentation by Leigh Wilson, Robyn Quinlan and Richard Wingate for the Brain Awareness Campaign Event at the Society of Neuroscience Annual Meeting 2019 in Chicago. The project involved class visits and a workshop at the "Spare Parts" exhibition at the Science Gallery London.

Scientists worked with 8-9 year old from St Francis of Assisi Primary School in West London to produce a pack of Top Trump cards. Each student imagined their brain and body adapted for a new environment and created a card for each with scores for different characteristics.

Science in the pub at the Sidmouth Science Festival

Richard Wingate (Kings College London) and Tom Butts (Liverpool University) entertained a lively audience at the Blue Ball Inn as part of the Sidmouth Science Festival about "genetic engineering and designer babies" and  "Imagination and Ambiguity in Science"

Brainwaves 2019

Brainwaves at the Sidmouth Science Festival engaged with students in year 4 from Sidmouth Primary School, Newton Poppleford School and St Johns. Two laboratories (Wingate and Clarke) from the Centre for Developmental Neurobiology at King's College London conducted a neuroscience workshop for 58 school children on the beach

Neuronline article published on Brainwaves

Read about the Brainwaves project in full at Neuronline

Brainwaves - neuroscience on the beach at the Sidmouth Science Festival

Three laboratories (Clarke, Wingate, Williams) from the Centre for Developmental Neurobiology at King's College London conducted a  neuroscience workshop for 65 school children from three schools in South Devon: Newton Poppelford, Sidmouth Primary and St. John's

The event was part of the Sidmouth Science Festival now in its 6th year. Our involvement was supported by a grant the Wellcome Trust to Jon Clarke

The Lucida Symposium at Asia House

Symposium "Vision in Hisory, Theory and Practice" to accompany the exhibition of Suki Chan's Lucida II and III.
Richard Wingate presenting "The Construction of Perceptual Worlds"
Friday 30th June 2017 at Asia House.

Podcast: 2scientists Richard Wingate and Parmvir Bahia

Podcast conversation with Parmvir Bahia (from the US organisation "Taste of Science") recorded just before before Christmas 2016.

Follow this link to listen in

MOUTHY: Effie Paleologou and Iain Sinclair in conversation

Richard Wingate chairs artist Effie Paleologou in conversation with acclaimed writer and filmmaker, Iain Sinclair

3 November 2016, Guy's Hospital Chapel. 7.00pm

Paleologou's large-format photographs from Microcosms are currently displayed as part of the #MOUTHY season at Science Gallery UK in two public spaces: the Colonnade in Guy’s Campus until 25 November and on billboards outside London Bridge station from 24 October until 20 November [map].

Launch of Suki Chan's Lucida

Lucida explores the curious, complex relationship between the human eye, vision and the brain.

Suki Chan's project is supported by a Wellcome Trust Small Arts Awards, University of Salford Art Collection and Arts Council England.

A publication accompanies the exhibition with essays by Dr Marius Kwint, Reader in Visual Culture, University of Portsmouth; Dr Richard Wingate, King’s College London; and Gareth Evans, Film Curator, Whitechapel Gallery.

TINTYPE, London
16 Sept – 22 Oct (Preview: Thurs 15 Sept 6.30 – 8.30pm)

Pint of Science - Building Brains

Pint of Science public event at the Pavillion End May 23 (7-10pm).
Richard Wingate - Imagining the developing brain
Sandrine Thuret - Adult neurogenesis: can we grow new brain cells?

Parallel practices collaboration is news in Japan

Article on collaboration with Celia Pym in Keitodama magazine

Parallel Practices outcomes

Short piece Richard Wingate and Tamsin van Essen in the March/April edition of Ceramic Review Magazine

Interview with Tamsin van Essen, Celia Pym et al in Crafts Magazine (issue 253)

David Beazley's short film about the Parallel Practices project.

Parallel practices: photographs and films

Tamsin van Essen's bone sculpture

The Parallel Practices art and science collaborations generated enormous interest over their short run. You can see some of the outcomes of the residencies in a pictorial collection for Celia Pym and a short film for Tamsin van Essen

Celia Pym's work station

Parallel Practices: Life Sciences Museum and Tamsin Van Essen open house

Open House at the Life Sciences Museum, Guy's Campus: Work-in-progress by ceramicist, Tamsin van Essen, and an opportunity to visit this unique working museum space, which is normally closed to the public.

The Museum will be open 11am - 4 pm on Sunday December 14th, Monday December 15th and Wednesday December 17th.

Sunday visits can be pre-booked here

Tamsin van Essen's residency is a collaboration with Richard Wingate and the Anatomy Department at King's College London and is part of Parallel Practices