Festival brings Physics to life
Posted on 16 March 2011
The University of York production Ellie the Electron and the Quantum Circus makes seemingly complex concepts such as Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle and electron spin understandable by threading them through the exciting tale of an electron who becomes a star in Mr Pauli’s Quantum Circus.
The performance on Saturday, 19 March from 2 to 3pm, in the stunning, new Ron Cooke Hub on the University’s Heslington East campus, is part of York’s 14th Festival of Science and Technology organised by Science City York.
The Hub will also host a range of exciting drop-in activities and exhibitions on the same day from 10am to 4pm. These include an inflatable 5 metre Cosmodome allowing visitors to take a stellar journey through the night sky, plus a chance to make Alka-Seltzer rockets, lifting lemons and erupting fizz.
Dr Yvette Hancock, of the University’s Department of Physics, devised and wrote Ellie the Electron and the Quantum Circus. It will appeal to children and the young at heart by presenting quantum theory using fun characters and an imaginative story.
Dr Hancock based the pantomime on her children’s book of the same name and plays the lead role of Ellie the Electron with a supporting cast of University staff and students.
By using characters like ‘Ellie’ we can teach difficult Physics concepts by capturing the imagination of children and inspiring them
Dr Yvette Hancock
She said: “I want to show that Physics can be fun and entertaining and that its concepts are easy to grasp. By using characters like ‘Ellie’ we can teach difficult Physics concepts by capturing the imagination of children and inspiring them.”
The 14th Festival of Science and Technology has been organised by Science City York and its partners - including the University of York - and is supported by Yorkshire Forward and the Research Councils UK.
Both the pantomime and drop-in events at the Hub are free, but tickets for Ellie the Electron and the Quantum Circus need to be booked in advance. Visit the Minster Box Office in York Minster, open Mondays to Saturdays from 9.30am to 4.30pm, phone 0844 9390015 or visit www.boxoffice.yorkminster.org.
Notes to editors:
- For more information on the 14th Festival of Science and Technology visit Science City York’s website at www.scy.co.uk/events
- For more information on the University of York’s Department of Physics visit www.york.ac.uk/physics
- The Ron Cooke Hub is one of the flagship buildings on the University of York’s £750m Heslington East campus expansion which has been built with a combination of public and private funding, including support from the European Regional Development Fund. The Hub houses an integrated network of support for start-up businesses and is part of the University’s pioneering concept, already established on York Science Park, of linking businesses to research centres on an academic campus.
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