Resumen de Putting shock and awe into The Bigger Bang! Staging high-end live chemistry events
Michael Hal Sosabowski, Sergey V. Mikhalovsky, Sam Anglin, David Campbell, Max Whitby, Mike Sansom, Bronagh Liddicoat
Since 1995 the authors have been running a series of now well-recognised exhibition chemistry shows throughout the UK and Europe. These started as 'village hall' type events at the first author's home university and were fairly traditional 'white-coat' chemistry demonstrations. However, as the events evolved, they metamorphosed into three disparate events that were enhanced by scripting, comedy, sound effects, prefilmed topical vignettes and shock-and-awe science. The Bigger Bang' show is a scripted large-scale theatrical event typically staged in auditoria to audiences of 2000 or more and featuring the first author and his partner television character 'The Doe' from ITV's Saturday morning show Ministry of Mayhem, with whom he presented the science slot. A Guided Tour of the Darker Reaches of the Periodic Table is an event aimed at the science community and the public, featuring each of the elements of the Periodic Table from 1 to 92 in an elegant demonstration of its own. Or Hal's Ministry of Chemistry is a travelling chemistry roadshow featuring spectacular demonstrations presented by the first author (Dr Hal) and his hapless and hard-done-by sidekick Dave 'Sideshow' Campbell. We report the lessons we have learned related to the content, delivery, risk assessment, evaluation and planning of such events.
