Eureka moments

WE'RE all scientists, in our way. We all have those 'Eureka' moments when we suddenly come to understand the world about us a little more.

One of the first for me was when I realised what goosebumps were. I must have been about eight, it was cold, and I was idly wondering why, whenever it was cold, those funny little bumps stood out on my arm. From somewhere, my eight-year-old brain dredged up information I didn't even know it had. How, while they didn't look like it, the fine, almost invisible hairs on my arm were fur just like that on a dog, and how, when it was cold, a dog's fur stood on end to make its coat thicker and warmer. Eureka! When it was cold, the tiny hairs on my arm stood on end in an age-old response to the temperature - and by doing so caused these little bumps on my skin.

OK, it wasn't a discovery which changed the world. As an eight-year-old, however, I was pretty pleased with myself.

It was just that kind of leap (only a slightly more impressive one) that Newton made when he realised that the force which made an apple fall to the ground was the same force as the one that kept our own earth, the moon and all the planets swinging in their orbits around the sun. That really was a discovery that changed the world.

We're not all Newtons, but every time we puzzle over something in our everyday lives and, in a flash of inspiration, the pieces fall into place, we are all being scientists.

York, with its science park and university, is a city that's great at science. It's a hot-bed of cutting edge scientific research: everything from computer technology and robotics to the search for a cure for cancer and trying to produce healthy fish oils without having to get them from fish.

And it's not just about boffins in white coats doing strange things that have nothing to do with the rest of us. The science that is being done here is stuff that will change people's lives.

Over the next couple of weeks, it will be taking its place in the spotlight. The two-week Science City York Festival of Discovery is a celebration of science and of the spirit of wonder which drives it.

Across the city, there will be a series of interactive events, stunts, talks and displays designed to show science really does have that 'wow' factor.

The festival kicks off on Tuesday with a series of live, interactive demonstrations at York University's Central Hall which aim to help young people explore the technology behind music making.

Sound FX aims to be a "fly-on-the-wall look at what happens in the studio when singers and instrumentalists are recorded".

On Thursday, the Guildhall takes centre stage when it hosts Discovery Days, a three-day orgy of amazing, hands-on science. Last year's event included everything from how to encase yourself in a giant soap bubble to face-to-face encounters, through a microscope, with the tiny bugs that share our lives.

The favourite a year ago, according to scientist Dr Alex Brabbs, was the bed bug - magnified 60 times through the microscope's lens into a bulky, hairy, looming monster.

As well as close encounters with more tiny monsters, this year's Discovery Days will give you the chance to discover the science that's going on in your garden shed, help a rolling marble defy the forces of gravity and find out what is so amazing about the triangle.

The following week, libraries and youth centres across the city will be staging a series of interactive sessions designed to help you get to grips with computers. You'll be able to edit digital photos, learn to surf the web, and even design your own T-shirt.

Throughout the two weeks, York Brewery will be laying on special tours to explain the science behind brewing (important one, that), while at various times the National Railway Museum will give you the chance to ride a replica of Stephenson's famous Rocket. You'll be able to find out how to make your own simple animated films - and be given the chance to talk live to radio hams around the world.

And just to prove that science really is cool, Tomorrow's World and Robot Wars presenter Philippa Forrester will be at the Merchant Taylor's Hall on March 17 talking about why she finds science exciting.

Who knows? If the festival manages to put the sexy back into science maybe one day, instead of dreaming about being the next reality TV star or manufactured pop brat, it could be your own son or daughter who finds a cure for cancer or makes the breakthrough that allows us one day to walk upon Mars. Exciting or what?

For more information about the Science City York Festival of Discovery or a programme of events, call 01904 554433 or log on to the website

www.sciencecityork.org.uk/discover

Updated: 08:58 Saturday, March 06, 2004