Dr Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin at the launch of City of Physics. Image via Naoise Culhane
Following on from the success of the DART of Physics campaign, today marks the launch of City of Physics, a new interactive and inclusive campaign to encourage everyone across Dublin to explore the beauty of physics around the city.
The City of Physics campaign will be running across a four week period, from 26 October to 19 November, with the expectation of turning notices on buses, the DART and on the street into a vibrant celebration of physics
There are also plans to hold a number of public events during the nearly one-month period, all in order to spark curiosities and ask people to consider physics as part of our culture.
The campaign was first discussed during the fringe festival of this year’s Inspirefest where one of the campaign’s organisers, Dr Shane Bergin, revealed talks were underway to follow the successful DART of Physics campaign that brought the same concept to the DART only.
Organised jointly by Trinity College Dublin (TCD), University College Dublin (UCD) and the Centre for Research on Adaptive Nanostructures and Nanodevices (CRANN), the poster campaign will feature a selection of insightful quotes and questions that will be accompanied by illustrations created by Irish illustrators.
Physics needs to be part of our culture
Some of the illustrators signed up to City of Physics include Steve McCarthy, Chris Judge, Kathi Burke, Fuchsia MacAree, Rob Torrans and Shane Kenna.
Meanwhile, the campaign will also continue online at www.cityofphysics.ie, which will be regularly rolling out a series of blog posts and podcasts linked to various physics topics.
Speaking of the campaign, Dr Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin, science communicator and lecturer at UCD, said: “Albert Einstein once wrote: ‘The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious.’ City of Physics offers a little bit of the mysterious in our everyday lives. We invite you to notice, take part in, and enjoy City of Physics as a project all Dubliners can be a part of and be proud of. Dublin is a cultural, historical, sociable, bustling city and as Dubliners we love to talk and ask questions. With this campaign we hope to encourage people to think and talk about physics in the world around them. You don’t have to be a scientist to ask good questions!”
Adding to its importance, Dr Bergin, who is a lecturer at CRANN, said: “Society will only reap the real benefits of research in science and technology when we ‘own it’ – when it’s part of our culture like GAA, music or talking about the weather.”
