The British Association for the Advancement of Science

(1831 - )

Nigel Cooper

September 2004

Mysterious laser lights, skydivers dropping from the blue and ducks that go quack in the night. It doesn't sound like your typical science festival, but that's very much the point for the British Association for the Advancement of Science (BA). They believe science should be accessible and inspirational for everyone and their annual Festival of Science is just one of the events they organise to prove it can be.

Not just for eggheads

Technology affects all of us. Can you imagine the world without mobile telephones, email or the Internet? Where would you be without your car, washing machine or television?

Despite its massive effect on our everyday lives, many of us still see technology and the science behind it as something too complicated to think about. We see it as the bastion of boffins and eggheads – and who can blame us?

Even scientists have trouble coming to terms with many of the areas they study. Take quantum physics or string theory. How can a particle be in two places at once? Just what are super-positions? And what exactly do theorists mean when they say the entire Universe might be made up of strings? Are we living in some kind of cosmic cat's cradle?

With theories like these, it's no wonder many of us are turned off by science – but it doesn't have to be that way. Science needn't be an impenetrable quagmire of acronyms and techno-talk. Neither does it have to be scary, mind-numbing or elitist – this is the message that the BA is trying to get across.

The BA Festival of Science

One of the major events in the British Association's calendar is the popular Festival of Science. It has been taking place since 1831 when the association was founded and is now the UK's largest science festival, attracting more than 300 speakers and thousands of visitors. It's open to everyone from school children and students to scientists and those who are simply curious.

Each year, the festival has a different theme for contributors to comment on. In 2003, the theme was 'sustainable science' and there were talks, dialogue events, visits, exhibitions as well as hands-on workshops throughout the UK. The festival examined topics ranging from crime in the middle classes to whether or not a duck's quack would echo. For those who missed Daisy the duck's fine performance, she proved once and for all that quacks do indeed echo, debunking the acoustic myth forever.

Birth of the BA

The formation of the British Association owes a great deal to a man named David Brewster. He was the editor, and a regular contributor to, the Edinburgh Magazine and he had a keen interest in science.

Of his many achievements, perhaps the most famous came in 1815 when he invented the kaleidoscope. In the same year, he was made a member of the oldest learned society still in existence – the Royal Society of London. It was an organisation he would become increasingly dissatisfied with.

Brewster's job brought him into frequent communication with many eminent scientific men, from whom he learned the benefits of regular meetings and intercourse among men of science. Disillusioned with the elitist and conservative attitude of the Royal Society, he made a suggestion for 'an association of our nobility, clergy, gentry and philosophers' in an article published in the Quarterly Review.

A man called William Vernon Harcourt read Brewster's article. Having an interest in science himself and having already set up the Yorkshire Philosophical Society, he was keen to create the organisation Brewster spoke of.

The first meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science was held in York in 1831. Brewster, along with Harcourt, Sir John F W Herschel and the 'father of modern computing' Charles Babbage, began to shape its constitution. In the same year, Brewster received the honour of a knighthood.

Early achievements

When its first meetings were held, its purpose was made clear: 'To give a stronger impulse and a more systematic direction to scientific inquiry; to promote the intercourse of those who cultivate science in different parts of the British Empire with one another and with foreign philosophers; to obtain more general attention for the objects of science and the removal of any disadvantages of a public kind that may impede its progress.'

The organisation quickly attracted the country's leading scientists. Major advances were often announced at its talks and meetings, including Joule's experiments on the mechanical equivalent of heat in the 1840s and Bessemer's steel process in 1856. The discovery of the first of the inert gases (argon) by Rayleigh and Ramsay was also declared at a BA meeting in 1894, as was J J Thomson's discovery of the electron in 1899. A BA meeting was also the venue for the first demonstration of wireless transmission in 1894.

For about the first half of the 19th century anyone studying nature or science was called a 'natural philosopher'. At a BA meeting in 1833 William Whewell, coined the term 'scientist' by analogy with 'artist'. But, according to a contemporary report in the Quarterly Review the term 'was not generally palatable' at the time. Consequently, it wasn't until the latter decades of the century that it came into general use. Another modern staple to have had its first public outing at a BA meeting was the term 'dinosaur', meaning 'terrible lizard' which was first used by Sir Richard Owen at a meeting in 1841.

Illustrious past

The British Association has attracted some illustrious presidents in its time. In 1859, the year Darwin published On the Origin of Species, by Means of Natural Selection, HRH the Prince Consort (otherwise known as Prince Albert) delivered the inaugural address as president. This was an extraordinary period when everyone joined in debates on science, prince or pauper. Other presidents have included T H Huxley in 1870, Professor John Tyndall in 1874 and HRH Prince of Wales in 1926.

Perhaps one of the most memorable of the annual meetings in the 19th Century was in Oxford in 1860, where T H Huxley and Samuel Wilberforce, the Bishop of Oxford, clashed over Darwin's On the Origin of Species. Wilberforce asked Huxley whether it was from his grandfather or grandmother's side that he descended from a 'venerable ape', to which Huxley replied:

'If I am asked whether I would choose to be descended from the poor animal of low intelligence and stooping gait, who grins and chatters as we pass, or from a man, endowed with great ability and splendid position, who should use these gifts to discredit and crush humble seekers after truth, I hesitate what answer to make!'

Modern changes

Today, the BA has approximately 3000 members and its activities have changed in emphasis since the early days. Modern-day communication means annual meetings are no longer the best and only way to discuss scientific research. Because of this, the British Association now spends more time helping to create and maintain links between scientists, technologists and non-scientists.

As part of their drive, the organisation concentrates on school children and pupils, making sure the younger generation gets involved in science. The British Association for Young Scientists (BAYS) was created to help up-and-coming generations to get the most out of science and now has more that 12,000 members – it is the most rapidly growing section of BA membership.

Today's BA is also involved with organising events and programmes across the country throughout the year, whether it's an event like National Science Week or local discussion and exhibition in a village hall. It also offers a range of schemes and awards for scientists, as well as science conferences, courses and training.

Find out more

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Websites

The British Institution for the Advancement of Science
www.the-ba.net/the-ba/
Home of the BA. Check it out for more on forthcoming events, membership details and news.

The Royal Institution
www.rigb.org
Comprehensive site with information on past, present and forthcoming RI lectures – it's time to book now for 2004.

Museum of the History of Science, Oxford University
www.mhs.ox.ac.uk/
An excellent resource for anyone interested in the history of science.

The Science Museum
www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/
There's plenty to go at on this site, whether you're interested in the history of science or in contemporary science.

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