For the third year in a row LSTM will be present at the Bluedot Festival at Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire, UK. The popular festival will be held from 18 to 21 July and fuses music, science and culture. Main theme this year is the 50th anniversary of the moon landing.
LSTM participates with its Club Tropicana, which will have family friendly demonstrations and games. Activities include microscope identification of parasites, matching the parasite to the disease-carrying insect, dressing-up as field researchers and handling the equipment we use to control diseases. Visitors can marvel at the length parasitic tapeworms can grow within the human body with eye-opening visuals, and can make their own gruesome parasites to take away with them. The festival goers can talk to our team of experts about the threats posed by climate change, insecticide and drug resistance to tropical diseases control. Our team this year will include students, entomologists, parasitologists, clinicians and nurses, all ready to inspire the next generation and inform people about the work of LSTM.
As in previous years Professor Mark Taylor will give a DotTalk on the Saturday in the Star Pavilion on ‘The Light and Dark Side of the Symbiont’. LSTM’s Dr Tom Fletcher and Dr Shevin Jacob will do a double act on the Friday with a presentation on sepsis.
In addition, throughout the festival, a 15 metre long giant Cobra snake puppet will roam the festival fields, combining art and theatre with the venom research that is being conducted at LSTM.
LSTM’s presence is being coordinated by Public Engagement Manager, Dr Elli Wright: ‘The Bluedot Festival is going from strength to strength and is drawing a growing audience of tens of thousands of people. It is a great way to showcase LSTM’s research over 3 days in a very enthusiastic and informal atmosphere.’
The Bluedot Festival is now embarking on the so-called ‘Microdot’ festival spin off organising smaller inner city events in Manchester, Liverpool and Chesire.