Science Cafe: "Free as a bird? A life ruled by fickle airscapes"

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The Swansea Science Cafe offers opportunities for anyone to find out more about new, exciting and topical areas of science in an informal and entertaining way.

Bird in flight

Title: Free as a bird? A life ruled by fickle airscapes

Speaker: Dr Emily Sheppard, Swansea University

Date: Wednesday 27th May

Time: 7.30 pm

Venue: The Dylan Thomas Centre, Swansea

Admission: Free, all welcome

At this month’s Science Cafe, Dr Sheppard will explore the world of birdflight. As anyone who has ever been in a plane knows, flying conditions vary greatly and may be bumpy due to turbulence, or faster or slower depending on the wind direction. This is the world in which billions of birds live and move. Dr Sheppard will talk about why there is a lot to learn about how birds respond to the aerial environment and the need to understand more.  The talk will focus on some recent research on the Andean condor – a remarkable species that is utterly dependent on the movements of the air in order to fly.

Contact details: http://swansea.ac.uk/science/swanseasciencecafe/

About Science Cafe Wales

Each month, a leading expert in their field will give a brief introductory talk followed by a friendly informal chat. You can sit back, relax with a drink and listen or get involved in the discussion and debate. The Science Café organisers are committed to promoting public engagement with science and to making science accountable.

Science Café Wales are held in casual settings in Cardiff, Swansea and Bangor. They are informal and accessible and entrance is entirely free. They usually start with a short talk from the speaker, usually a scientist or writer, followed by a quick break and then an hour or so of discussion afterwards.

Previous topics have included dark matter, the common cold, Dr Who, the Big Bang and alternative therapies.

The first Cafes Scientifiques in the UK were held in Leeds in 1998. From there cafés gradually spread across the country.

Currently, some 40 or so cafés meet regularly to hear scientists or writers on science talk about their work and discuss it with diverse audiences.