Ever wondered how hard it would be to cook without looking? Well that is exactly what Julie Woods - aka That Blind Woman, has to deal with in her daily life and she was more than happy to share the experience with her demonstration of how the mind and body cope without one of our core senses to a packed Wall St Mall audience.
This was just one of the amazing events from a jam packed, week long programme for the New Zealand International Science Festival held at various events around the city. This year's theme was "Every Day Science - Food for Thought" and featured a a range of events that tempt your taste buds and challenge you to experience, interact and learn about our food's journey from the farm to the fork.
Scroll down for some highlights from the Festival....
Keynote speakers for the Festival included Dr Andrew Greensmith (left), a prominent plastic surgeon, and also a graduate from Otago University, who works at the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne. Other events included (top centre) From Blossom to Bread: The Science of Honey, Building Blocks of Live - Your DNA (bottom centre), the winner of the Cheese Roll recipe competition Joy Jones (top right) and Dante's Laboratory at the Fortune Theatre (bottom right)
Award winning chef Michael Coughlin (left) gave a cooking demonstration at Pier 24 where he shared his favourite seafood recipes for the event titled "From Clams to Kina." The Dunedin Public Library had daily workshops and interactive activities including (top centre) Dental Detectives. A tour of the Dental School (top right) provided a fantastic opportunity to look through the high tech teaching facility for dental students at Otago University. The documentary "Donated to Science" (bottom right) at Rialto Theatre was also very popular.
Dining in the Dark (left) gave participants the experience of having a meal completely blind at the Otago Polytechnic's Technique restaurant. Polar explorer and scientist Tim Jarvis (top centre) gave a fascinating talk on his experiences from recent polar expeditions to the North & South Poles. He also held another workshop at the Otago Settler's Museum that demonstrated the need for a healthy breakfast (top right) when faced with extreme climate conditions such as those he experienced on his polar expeditions. The "Fun & Food Fiesta" (bottom centre) at the Lion Foundation Arena at the Edgar Centre was a hugely popular event for the families on the final day of the Festival. An interesting talk on traditional Maori food sources (bottom right) at the Early Settler's Museum.
Dr Tim Jarvis (top left) shares some stories of his work with ear, nose and eye reconstruction surgery with an enthralled young audience. Award winning brewer Richard Emerson (bottom left) pours a special brew at the "Science of Beer" event that provided a history of the beer brewing process. A panel discussion titled "Science for New Zealand" (centre) featured prominent scientist discussing the future of science in New Zealand. Rapping Scientist, Tim McFadden (right), uses rap music to communicate scientific concepts to children and senior students.
The "Science of Winemaking" (left) featured 2010 NZ Winemaker of the Year, Rudi Bauer explaining how to make your own Pinot Noir. On a slightly warmer note the "Science of Curry" (top centre) event at Little India restaurant gave the audience an insight in to why chillies are hot and how curry spices can benefit us. Dunedin's Chinese Gardens provided a picturesque backdrop to the "Healthy Benefits and History of Drinking Chinese Tea" session with speaker Assoc Prof Andre Everett (top right). The science expo at Otago University on the Friday and Saturday of the Festival proved hugely popular for all ages as staff from some of the science departments from the university demonstrated their specialist areas of science teaching and research.
The "Voyage of the Weetbix" workshop (top left) took it's young audience through the journey of our food from the moment it touches our teeth until it gets churned up in the depths of our digestive system. A breakfast seminar titled "On The Edge - Inspirational women in science" (centre) featured guest speakers Dr Helen Anderson, Dr Liz Carpenter, Nikki Hart and weather guru Karen Olsen. Learning about worm farming (top right) was a hit with the kids at the "Wiggly Worm Farms" workshops.
If you would like to know more about the New Zealand International Science Festival then check out their website;
