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New grant puts science centre stage

Wednesday 7th June 2017

Thanks to a new scientific outreach grant from the Biochemical Society, Science Oxford will be teaming up with the Oxford Playhouse and the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics (WTCHG) this October to create Oxford Fun Palace.

In the early 1960s, Joan Littlewood and architect Cedric Price conceived the Fun Palace as a ‘laboratory of fun’ and ‘a university of the streets’. The concept was rooted in the belief that community belongs at the core of all culture – and that there should be an annual weekend of events, where arts, crafts, science, tech and digital were a catalyst for community engagement and full participation for everyone, from the grassroots up.

WE BELIEVE IN THE GENIUS IN EVERYONE, IN EVERYONE AN ARTIST AND EVERYONE A SCIENTIST, AND THAT CREATIVITY IN COMMUNITY CAN CHANGE THE WORLD FOR THE BETTER. WE BELIEVE WE CAN DO THIS TOGETHER, LOCALLY, WITH RADICAL FUN – AND THAT ANYONE, ANYWHERE, CAN MAKE A FUN PALACE (Fun Palaces Manifesto)

Fun Palaces is now a nationwide scheme that brings the arts and sciences together, and we will be running our Fun Palace experience in the Burton Taylor Studio at the Playhouse on Saturday October 7 – drop in from 11AM – 3PM.

To tie in with the start of Biology Week, we have chosen a theme of DNA Detectives and will be inviting people to explore DNA in a variety of ways, including extracting it and creating their own family tree of characteristics. There will be researchers on hand to chat to and answer questions.

Fun Palaces

Luiza Patorski, Science Oxford’s event manager, says: “We are thrilled to have received this grant from the Biochemical Society and know how much it will benefit visitors to the Oxford Fun Palace that we’re organising with the Playhouse and WTCHG.”

Making science accessible and fun for all is the perfect way to get people engaged not just with science, but with the world around them.

The Fun Palace DNA Workshop will take place on October 7th 2017 in the Burton Taylor Studio, Oxford Playhouse.

CULTURE FOR, BY, WITH ALL 7 & 8 OCT 2017

Everyone an Artist, Everyone a Scientist

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