The Royal Institute’s Christmas Lectures will be screened live in Preston this year.
For the first time in its 184-year history, the lectures will be broadcast in real time to five locations outside of London.
UCLan is one of the venues to be chosen for the prestigious screenings – along with Manchester, Cambridge, Belfast and London.
Lecture Two in the series of three will be transmitted to the Darwin Lecture Theatre on campus – home to the UCLan and RI Young Scientist Centre – on Thursday December 13 at 6pm.
The lectures, on the theme ‘Who Am I?’ are presented by anthropologist, author and TV presenter Professor Alice Roberts and geneticist Professor Aiofe McLysaght.
They aim to get the whole nation thinking about questions of identity, from our evolutionary heritage and commonalities with the animal world, to the way in which the complex interplay between our modern environment and our genomes shape who we are.
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Gail Cardew, Director of Science and Education at the Royal Institution, said: “This marks an exciting development for the Royal Institution and the Christmas Lectures and fits well with our objective to give as many people as possible the opportunity to discover, discuss and critically examine science.
“The fact we are able to put on these events demonstrates the enduring appeal of the Christmas Lectures and the power of science to inspire and engage.
“Questions regarding identity and the forces that make us who we are have always been of immense importance but perhaps never so pressing as they are now. I believe these Lectures will help us better understand what makes us unique as individuals and what unites us as a species.”
Entry is free but places are limited and must be booked via EventbriteĀ https://
All three lectures will also be available to watch on BBC Four between Christmas and New Year’s Eve.
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