Science Café Talks in Cape Town

Cure your curiosity at these free talks where Einsteins meet ordinary folk

If you’ve ever wanted to dabble in world of all things science-y a la Bill Nye the Science Guy, here’s your chance. Thanks to a global initiative called Science Café, ordinary folk with a curiosity for chemistry, physics and more can get answers from local scientists and experts and explore cutting-edge issues in a chilled setting – like a pub or a coffee shop.

The next Cape Town version of this brainy talk series takes place on Thursday, 28 May 2015 at TRUTH Coffee Roasting HQ on Buitenkant Street with a session that delves deep into the unique fynbos ecosystem within the Western Cape and a brief overview about how fires have impacted the flourishing plant life in the region.

Based on UK organisation Café Scientifique, which was founded in 1998 as a means to bring the public together around current science topics, the free-to-attend grassroots programme has been taken up by countries all over the world – from the US to Uganda and Sweden to Turkey – with each forum reflecting a local culture’s concerns and interests around a variety of subjects.

Anyone with an enquiring mind can attend the talks, and audience members certainly don’t have to have formal training or a scientific background to enjoy a Science Café evening. The sessions are very informal, characterised by lively conversation and topics that are timely, interesting and often controversial.

THURSDAY, 28 MAY 2015: FYNBOS BURNS – THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY

This month, ecologist Dr Donovan Kirkwood will be bringing forth his expertise and a brief overview of  the natural history of fire in fynbos ecosystems and its overwhelming contribution to shaping and maintaining the rich Western Cape ecology. Kirkwood is a trained ecologist with a background in research in Cape ecosystems and has over a decade of experience in conservation. Not just fond of academia and research, Donovan has a flair for tinkering with Italian motorcycles and gardening.

ENTRY TO THE SCIENCE CAFÉ TALKS IN CAPE TOWN

Entry to the Science Café talks is free. Drinks and food will be on sale.

The sessions run from 6pm to 8pm the last Thursday of every month.

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If you’re looking for more free and fun ways to expand your mind check out CreativeMornings and PechaKucha. 
Have a squiz at our guide to May events  to find out about more hot happenings taking place during the month.

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