Royal Institution (Faraday Laboratory)

On Friday evening, June 29, the EIL Students along with Profs. Berry and Parsons visited the Royal Institution (Michael Faraday Museum) near Green Park. In addition to visiting Faraday's Laboratory, the students attended a (Friday) Discourse lecture entitled "Are We Ready for the Next Pandemic" by Dr. Peter Piot (London School of Hygene and Tropical Medicine). In 1976, Dr. Piot co-discovered  the Ebola virus in Zaire. His lecture was given in the Royal institution's lecture hall, where Michael Faraday started the Christmas lectures in 1825. The RI today is known for its science education programs, a continuation of the tradition of scientific lectures as enlightened entertainment. The Friday Night Discourses were formal affairs with the audience in evening dress and the speaker by tradition had to start and stop his address as the auditorium clock struck consecutive hours. J. J. Thomson announced the discovery of the electron in his 1897 lecture in this room. The Christmas Lecture program, begun by Michael Faraday and continuing through today, is the oldest continuous science education program for young people.