CSES 2023-2024: Welcome

A packed programme for everyone to look forward to

We are delighted to announce that our 2023-2024 season is taking shape, with (nearly) all the talks for the year now confirmed, the socials for the remainder of 2023 in the diary (more to follow!) and other highlights such as the Chelmsford Science Festival on the horizon.

We are also pleased to be jointly hosting a STEM Conference with Drapers' Academy at Chelmsford Cathedral (15 Nov), and to be able to offer a unique opportunity for students to hear a talk by the former Head of Technology at British Cycling (6 Dec)! Looking forward to 2024, we will be running TEXPO and Do & Discover as usual, and at various careers fairs and other events.

Keep an eye on the events page of our website for the latest programme. Members can receive email updates with all the latest news and invitations, so if you haven't yet joined the society but are thinking about it, we would encourage you to do so now! It's an easy, online process – free for students/teachers and only £12 a year for everyone else.

Read on for the events in the calendar so far.

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Do and Discover 2023

Our flagship weekend returns for the Chelmsford Festival

Do & Discover 2023 • ARU & The Meadows • 17-18 June

Click here to find out all the details

Our weekend of fun experimental activities for all the family is back! Join CSES and its partners for a full weekend of FREE hands-on discovery across the city of Chelmsford. Taking place across both days at ARU and the Meadows Shopping Centre, we invite you to Do something fun and Discover the wonders of science and innovation in Chelmsford.

There will be loads of hands-on activities for families and children, including AI music, live satellite tracking, a full Raspberry Jam (tech and coding), science experiments, engineering challenges, craft activities and making your own radios.

Pre-booking is advised for Make Your Own Radio – see the event page to book

An exhibition (featuring a live link between the two locations!) will tell the amazing story of how Chelmsford connected and changed the world.

And this year, we are delighted to feature a Hearing Lab and Brain Hub, where you will get to find out what it's like to wear a hearing aid, control a phone with your mind and test yourself with some dementia-friendly games.

Pre-booking is advised for the Saturday Brain Hub – see the event page to book

To round off the Saturday, ARU will be hosting the finale of the Chelmsford Radio Drama Festival in the evening. Just over 100 years ago, Chelmsford introduced the concept of radio entertainment to the world. Come and listen to the premiere of an exciting new work being recorded for broadcast later this year.

So tell everyone, bring your family and friends, and join us for a weekend of doing and discovering!

Spread the word – download the event poster here: PDF • PNG

Click here to find out all the details

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Obituary: Vic Leverett (1944-2023)

Vic Leverett OBE, Past President

Vic Leverett, who has died aged 78, was a former President, recent trustee and active committee member of CSES. From 2009 until his death, Vic was instrumental in modernising the society, raising its profile and building partnerships across Essex to bring science and technology to everyone. His work has had a lasting impact, felt by a lot of people in both the public and private sectors.

After sponsored studies, Vic enjoyed a long and illustrious career at the English Electric Valve company (EEV), now Teledyne e2v, from where he became involved with CSES.

Roger Pittock, a colleague of Vic's at EEV and latterly a good friend and fellow CSES trustee, reflects on their time together, in a celebration of Vic's life.

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First Briton in space leads extravaganza of science

Helen Sharman's talk one of many 'out of this world' Chelmsford Science Festival events

The first British astronaut, Helen Sharman OBE, will give a headline talk at the inaugural Chelmsford Science Festival, taking place across the city between 12-18 October and organised by Anglia Ruskin University (ARU).

During her talk on Tuesday, 18 October, Helen will explain how, in May 1991, she spent eight days orbiting the Earth after being chosen from a pool of 13,000 applicants. As part of the selection process, she undertook rigorous psychological and medical assessments, and had to train intensively for 18 months to prepare her body for the harsh environment of space.

The talk will take place at Chelmsford Cathedral in front of the spectacular Gaia installation, which will be on display throughout the festival.

Helen's talk is just one of several fascinating and free events at the festival, which will feature world-leading experts speaking about issues ranging from the future of work to the secrets of visual short-term memory, and from the science of getting fit to how nano-technology can benefit all aspects of our lives.

The festival also features a free Family Science Day taking place at ARU's Chelmsford campus from 10am until 4pm on Saturday, 15 October, featuring hands-on and fun activities for people of all ages. As well as activities from CSES, people will have the chance to meet Titan the Robot, see shows from Cloud Factory and Bubble Superstars, and even experience a different body through virtual reality.

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Welcome to the 2022-2023 CSES programme

Return of talks and socials for the new season

Now that the worst of the Covid pandemic is behind us, and following the success of events over the summer such as Do and Discover and our Schools' TEXPO (see our COMPRESS newsletter for further information if you're interested), we are delighted to be returning to a full talks and social programme, alongside some new (regular) flagship events for families and the public.

It's still early days and we are still ramping back up – as are our partners such as the IOP, IET and IMechE – so please keep an eye out for new dates added to the diary over the coming months.

Read on for the events in the calendar so far.

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Website technical issues

Update 3 July: Functionality for online registration is restored. There is still an issue with the generation of links in some automated emails (especially event reminders), which we are continuing to investigate with the software developers. A fix should be in place for the start of the 2022-2023 events programme.

Update 15 July: We have had to migrate the server on an emergency basis to a new facility. Users should notice no change, and everything appears to be working as normal, but please advise if there are any issues.

If you experience any issues using the website, please Contact the Webmaster (technical support) with any relevant screenshots and the exact date/time that the problem occurred.

Thank you for your patience.

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CSES Summer 2022 Programme

For the whole family

CSES is pleased to announce a packed season of family-friendly activities for Summer 2022, in partnership with Chelmsford Festival, ARU and others.

TEXPO and Photographic Competition still open

Firstly, a reminder that our TEXPO 2022 (17 June) and Centenary Photographic Competition are both still open for entries until Fri 10 June. Please do consider entering these – there are cash prizes available!

Saturday 25 – Sunday 26 June: Do and Discover

During the Chelmsford Festival, join CSES and its partners for a full weekend of FREE hands-on discovery across the city of Chelmsford. Taking place in the high street, at the university and at KEGS, we invite you to Do some experimenting and creating, and Discover the wonders of science, technology and opportunities in Chelmsford.

Saturday 25 June: FREE Lego Family Challenge at ARU (pre-booking required)
Sunday 26 June: IOP PhysicsFest at KEGS (pre-booking required)
Both days: Hands-on activities for all the family in the City Centre (just turn up)

With fun and interesting things to Do and Discover from CSES, ARU, Make Happen, Teledyne e2v / Women@Teledyne, Essex Steamettes, Essex Young Engineers and more, there truly is something for everyone. See our events pages (linked above) for full details. All activities are completely FREE and open to all.

Wednesday 29 June: Café Scientifique

Star Wars revisited... A FREE talk and informal discussion led by Mr Steven Cutts, doctor, writer and familiar face to CSES members.

Café Scientifique is a place where, for the price of a cup of coffee or a glass of wine, anyone can come to explore the latest ideas in science and technology. Steven's talks are always fun, informative and really get the discussion going!

Book your FREE place via our website.

Thursday 9 June: CSES Ask Me Anything (AMA) on Reddit

Following the success of our 2021 Ask Me Anything (AMA) event on Reddit, we will be hosting another one this year. If you are not familiar with the AMA format, it is where notable groups and individuals invite the community to ask them any question, which they will do their best to answer in near real-time. Read our invitation here.

Wednesday 22 June – Friday 15 July: Chelmsford Innovation: Marconi and Beyond

Chelmsford has been a world-renowned centre of scientific and technological innovation for well over 100 years, and still is today. This exhibition at ARU will tell a part of that story, revealing how household names such as Marconi are echoed in the modern age.

The exhibition is free and open to all. There will be fun themed activities for children too, including over Do and Discover weekend on 25 and 26 June with a family day and tours of the campus.

Book your FREE slot via Eventbrite.

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Chelmsford Innovation: Marconi and Beyond

Exhibition celebrates Chelmsford innovation

Throughout June and July 2022, ARU hosted a special exhibition showcasing Chelmsford innovation from the last 100 years to the present day.

Chelmsford has been a world-renowned centre of scientific and technological innovation for well over 100 years, and still is today. Among other things, Chelmsford is home to the world's first wireless (later radio) factory, the world's first river water treatment plant and the world's first colour digital camera – and that's just from within the last century. Today, companies in Chelmsford continue to build the technology of the future, with high-tech developments in fields as diverse as space, healthcare, communications and defence. The impact of industry in Chelmsford on all of our lives is incredible.

A collaboration between ARU, CSES, Chelmsford Civic Society and the Marconi Veterans' Association, this exhibition told a part of that story, revealing how household names such as Marconi are echoed in the modern age.

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CSES at the Chelmsford Festival

Following the success of the British Science Festival in September 2021, CSES was back in June 2022 for the Chelmsford Festival, bringing Do and Discover to the city. A new joint initiative between CSES and Chelmsford Festival, Do and Discover is a weekend of fun experimental activities for all the family, taking place across Chelmsford. Working with our partners, we were delighted to put on a packed programme that was widely regarded as a highlight of the festival.

Saturday 25 June saw a family Lego day at ARU organised by Make Happen, alongside the Marconi: Innovation and Beyond exhibition also taking place, with a special thermal imaging demonstration by Leonardo for the festival. On the Sunday, IOP (Institute of Physics) East Anglia Branch held the post-pandemic return of their spectacularly popular PhysicsFest at KEGS. Across both days, CSES were joined in the city centre (Meadows and High Street) by Teledyne e2v, Essex Steamettes, the Wellcome Sanger Institute, the Ideas Hub and ARU to put on a rich display of hands-on experiments, STEAM / craft activities and career opportunities.

From figures obtained at the events, we know that over 700 people and families directly took part in one or more of the activities.

Our thanks to all the organisations and people involved, and we look forward to returning for both the Chelmsford Festival and Chelmsford Science Festival in 2023!

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Celebrating 100 years of radio broadcast

In May 1922, the world's first radio station started in Writtle. Called 2MT ("Two Emma Toc"), this humble – and somewhat experimental – enterprise operating from a small hut ultimately became the BBC as we know it today.

Marconi Company engineers sat in the snug of the old Cock and Bell Inn – now the site of Pakwaan Indian Punjabi Cuisine, Writtle – and planned the first ever scheduled radio broadcasts in the form of concerts to be aired by 2MT. The success of this station, under Captain Peter Eckersley, led directly to the start of the BBC.

Exactly 100 years later, Heritage Writtle put on a season of celebrations for this significant milestone in our history, including a parade, history walks, talks, and a weekend of family activities and exhibitions. As well as presenting at the weekend festivities, CSES held its annual dinner at Pakwaan on 23 May, where an excellent meal and evening was had by all. Guests were also treated to an exclusive walking tour of the significant sites by Tim Wander and Alan Pamphilon.

Tim also presented a commemorative display to the restaurant to record and celebrate the significant history of their premises; you can read more about the story on our website.

We intend to return to our social programme in the 2022/2023 season, with meet-ups on Thursday 13 October and Thursday 15 December.

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A packed programme for everyone to look forward to

Our flagship weekend returns for the Chelmsford Festival

Vic Leverett OBE, Past President

Helen Sharman's talk one of many 'out of this world' Chelmsford Science Festival events

Return of talks and socials for the new season

For the whole family

TEXPO and Photographic Competition still open

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