From the lab to the pub: Pint of Science is back and coming to your local

5 May 2022

Image: © DisobeyArt/Stock.adobe.com

If your idea of heaven is a drink and a chat about science, the Pint of Science Festival might just be the perfect event for you.

Pint of Science, a festival where scientists can share their research in informal settings, is running events in pubs and cafes around Ireland from 9 to 11 May.

Started in the UK in 2013, Pint of Science has become a global annual event designed to take researchers out of the lab to chat to the public. Here, it is supported by Science Foundation Ireland.

The Irish organisers have revealed the line-up for 2022, tackling everything from the human body to the black holes. After shifting online during the pandemic, the festival is back in person with events in Donegal, Cork, Dublin, Louth, Galway, Limerick, Waterford and Wexford.

Pint of Science may be a winner with fans of similar science communication events such as Bright Club.

Tickets for all talks are free, but attendees can make donations to Pint of Science and will only have to put their hand in their pocket if they want to purchase a pint. There are also some events taking place in cafes for under-18s and coffee lovers.

What’s on

Dubliners can join event called Diseases: From DNA to dog poo taking place in Doyle’s pub on College Street on 9 May. Over the course of an hour, attendees will hear from four Dublin-based researchers pondering topics such as im-moo-nology (that’s immunology in the animal world, by the way) and how dogs can influence our gut microbiomes.

Other Dublin events include Planet Earth calling! at The Back Page in Phibsborough. This will feature a series of talks on topics ranging from solar energy to protecting Dublin’s deer, while a seismologist will discuss the links between volcanoes and earthquakes.

For Corkonians interested in learning about the world around us alongside a creamy pint of Beamish or Murphy’s, There is no planet B and From water to land will be running in The New Bar at University College Cork.

For those more interested in biology and how the human body works, there’s also a talk happening in the same venue called Journey of our body – from birth to death. This will deal with questions you may have asked yourself once or twice, like is my baby an alien or is this slice of cake going directly to my heart?

There will also be talk of the human body in Galway’s Massimo bar on 11 May, with an event simply titled Our Body.

In JJ Bowles pub in Limerick, a group of scientists will come together to deliver talks on topics as diverse as cancer in turtles and how tiny sponges can help halt the climate crisis. Also speaking at the Seize the Science event will be a neuroscientist discussing sex differences in the brain and a professor of organic chemistry chatting about elements in their element.

For space cadets, there’s an event in Nancy’s Bar in Ardara, Co Donegal, sure to be of interest. And gin drinkers in Louth will want to check out STEAM out loud – Listoke distillery tour, which will give an insight into how gin is made.

There are plenty of other events and if you fancy a closer look at what’s on offer across the country, see Pint of Science’s website.

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Blathnaid O’Dea was a Careers reporter at Silicon Republic until 2024.

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