After a wonderful week, our three exhibits at the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition have returned to Cambridge. With over 10,000 visits from the public, school pupils, potential funders and Government Ministers, it was a very busy but enjoyable and successful week for everyone involved.

We're hoping that all three exhibits will feature in the 2015 Cambridge Science Festival which runs from 9 - 22 March 2015.

Butterfly evolution

Linking back to the pioneering work that began with Henry Walter Bates’ travels down the Amazon over 150 years ago, Dr Chris Jiggins, Dr John Davey and colleagues use beautifully intricate Heliconius butterfly wing patterns and genome sequencing techniques to explore and explain the genetic basis of mimicry, where different species evolve similar wing patterns to deter predators. Their exhibit featured live butterflies from Central and South America and gave visitors the opportunity to find out how scientists studied butterflies in Darwin’s time and how they study them today.

Star tracks

Launched in December 2013, the Gaia satellite is now in operation measuring the positions and motions of the one billion stars in our Milky Way. Combined with spectra from dedicated surveys, this data allows Professor Gerry Gilmore FRS and colleagues to answer fundamental questions on the origins of the stars, planets, chemical elements and map the mysterious dark matter that holds galaxies together. Visitors were part of Gaia science by controlling a real scientific telescope and spotting new astronomical events.

Tropical storms

Huge storms in the equatorial West Pacific play a critical role in our global climate system, affecting our atmosphere from the troposphere up into the stratosphere. Dr Neil Harris and colleagues conduct experiments using atmospheric research aircraft and unmanned drones operating out of the remote tropical island of Guam to help understand climate critical water vapour patterns and ozone levels. Using a mock-up of one of their aircraft, this exhibit showed visitors the realities and excitement experienced by scientists during a field measurement campaign.

The call for proposals for the 2015 Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition is now open. If you are a member of the University of Cambridge and interested in applying for this prestigious event, please contact Dane Comerford, Public Engagement Events Manager to discuss this further. The closing date for applications is 22 September 2015.

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