History

Dave Thompson’s original website (Knutsford-scibar.co.uk) was first registered in December 2004; it no longer exists but all the original content has been incorporated within this website, knutsfordscibar.org

SciBars (“science in a bar”) are based on the French Café Scientifique, and are run under the auspices of the British Science Association. They involve an expert giving a brief talk on a chosen scientific subject to an audience of interested people (who may or may not know anything about science) in the relaxed setting of a bar. After the talk, members of the audience ask questions, discuss the topic, and generally go away with a better understanding of the current state of scientific thinking than they had at the beginning. A huge range of topics is covered, such as: scientific ethics, Einstein’s theory of relativity, the search for immortality, farming methods, the use of drones, astronomy, quantum mechanics, and many, many more. The experts who come along to Knutsford to talk, and who are generally, although not always, lecturers/professors from nearby universities.

They were introduced by the British Association For the Advancement of Science, the operating name and trademark being the British Science Association(BSA).

In Cheshire Lorelly Wilson, chair of the North West branch of BSA, approached Dave Thompson with the idea of forming a SciBar in Knutsford. Today not only has Knutsford SciBar a full programme of events (see all past meetings via Home page) but there are also many more SciBars active in the North West.