The Energy Show at the Science Museum is where science meets steampunk and nine types of energy are demonstrated in ways that go POP! BANG! CRASH! WALLOP! and FLASH!
The plot:
Annabella and Phil, two futuristic science students, try to beat the clock to prove their knowledge of energy through a series of live experiments. They have a virtual assistant named i-nstein (looking not dissimilar to Albert Einstein…), a lab assistant named Bernard and a workshop that’s straight out of Steampunk Central, full of fascinating gadgets and dangerous-in-the-wrong-hands chemicals.
Here are 9 things to watch out for:
1. The fireball when methane is bubbled into soapy water and comes into contact with air and a little flame
2. The explosion when calcium carbide and water are combined, and the acetylene is mixed with O2 and ignited.
3. The bang! when a balloon full of hydrogen and oxygen is set alight.
4. The Star Warsness of it when a fluoroscent tube lights up like a light sabre when it comes into contact with a plasma ball.
5. The hair-raising effect of a Van de Graaf generator.
6. The shattering effect of pouring liquid nitrogen into a plastic bottle and the even more shattering effect of a bunch of flowers plunged into LN2.
7. The enormous range of a trebuchet loaded with plastic bottles.
8. The generation of electricity via a dynamo on the lab bike.
9. The soaring rocket bottles full of hydrogen gas and water.
When’s it on?
Tuesday, July 22 to Sunday, August 3 at 12 to 1.15pm and 2–3.15pm. There are no performances on a Monday. It’s on tour around the UK too.
What does it cost?
Adult: £13.50
Child: £9.50
Family tickets
1 adult, 2 children: £27
2 adults, 1 child: £31
2 adults, 2 children: £39
What will you learn?
Everything. And it won’t feel like learning.
