The museum is excited to be awarded The Royal Society Places of Science Funding. This funding stream supports museums to engage local communities through their heritage and science collections.
Working with our project partners at Heriot-Watt University the project will engage both visitors and the local community through activities linked to scientific objects in the museum collection. The project will explore the museum collection through the lens of current cutting-edge scientific research and will take visitors on a journey from local historical discoveries to present-day developments. The project focuses on three areas of the museum collection. Firstly, the pharmaceutical collection and our collection relating to David Waldie, a local who trained as a surgeon but went into chemistry. He is reputed to have been involved in the discovery of chloroform. Secondly, Linlithgow’s ‘Future Heritage’ connection to Montgomery Scott aka Scotty in ‘Star Trek: The Original Series’ who will be born in Linlithgow in 2222. Lastly, our photography collection and the science behind creating photographs.
This project ‘beams’ into the museum from 7pm on 8th September with our talk ‘Scotty, Space and the Universe’. Join Dr Paul Dalgarno as we look into replicators, warp speed, and other Star Trek tech and see what's real in the current world of Physics.
A little bit science, a little bit Star Trek and a whole lot of fun! Costumes are encouraged but not mandatory.
Paul Dalgarno is a physicist, and the Director of Learning and Teaching in the School of Engineering and Physical Sciences. He is also a massive Star Trek and sci-fi fan in general, and that passion has shaped and heavily inspired his career. It led him to study quantum physics and quantum optics as an early career researcher, before moving into the fields of microscopy and biophysics where he works at the interface between biology, chemistry, and physics. He’s particularly interested in light and what can be learnt from biological systems by using the complex properties of light as a probe and sensor. He is passionate about discussing physics and science with anyone who will listen, and also all things with aliens and space ships in them.
How to Book
Tickets can be booked to join us in person or online here.