So there you have it – science can be fun, can be cool and can be very silly indeed. My family and I have just been along to see Brainiac Live at the Komedia Bath and, as the fellow dad sitting next to me said, “Science was never like this when I was at school.”
You might remember Brainiac the TV series, originally fronted by a young Richard Hammond and full of science experiments to prove or disprove commonly held beliefs, such as can you run on custard. So Brainiac Live is the, well, live version of this, on stage with a team of four experts making science by creating explosions, noise and general mayhem, much to the delight of an enthusiastic audience.
And it was absolutely excellent. My family – including children six, nine and 11 – all loved it, joining in with the audience participation, sticking fingers in their ears as each ever-louder explosion was keyed up and loving the madness of it all. Along the way we learnt about how electric fences worked, that it’s easier to run through wallpaper than a net, the explosive qualities of nitrogen and how to make an office chair a lot more fun than it should be.
Throughout the team of Brainiacs were just superb, describing their mission as “The show that farts into the sleeping bag of science!”
We’re hoping that Brainiac Live will be back in Bath soon. When it arrives, we’ll certainly be there!