Science

Have you ever wanted to make more sense of the night sky? Or see the rings of Saturn for yourself? Whether you’re completely new to astronomy or have some experience, exploring and learning about the night sky is something everyone can enjoy.

Many of us struggle to remember a new person’s name 5 minutes after being introduced but have that one friend who never forgets a face! And a few special people have phenomenal memories that seem to know no bounds. For example, memorising 884 randomly shuffled playing cards in just 30 minutes!

We’re going to learn from the great brains and discover how to enhance our memory using simple techniques.

Have you ever wanted to make more sense of the night sky? Or see the rings of Saturn for yourself? Whether you’re completely new to astronomy or have some experience, exploring and learning about the night sky is something everyone can enjoy.

The role of renewable forms of energy generation in combating climate change is undeniable and pretty well understood by most people. Yet many myths surrounding the efficiency and reliability of renewable energies such as solar power persist – some of these myths even enter into political discourse, influencing the voting public. In this class you will learn the low down on renewable energy, the different types – wind power, hydro power, solar power and storage.

Have you ever wanted to make more sense of the night sky? Or see the rings of Saturn for yourself? Whether you’re completely new to astronomy or have some experience, exploring and learning about the night sky is something everyone can enjoy.

In the 17th Century Rene Descartes wrote “I think, therefore I am”. This simple statement lead to a privileging of the mind over the body and essentially split them apart. So are the mind and body really connected? How could this be and what are the implications of this? What role does the gut play in our mood?

Many of us struggle to remember a new person’s name 5 minutes after being introduced but have that one friend who never forgets a face! And a few special people have phenomenal memories that seem to know no bounds. For example, memorising 884 randomly shuffled playing cards in just 30 minutes!

We’re going to learn from the great brains and discover how to enhance our memory using simple techniques.

We have all heard that we are what we eat. If you eat processed sugar and high fat foods, your risk for heart diseases and many cancers skyrockets. On the other hand, grab a kale salad instead of a chocolate bar, and your whole body is nourished.

But did you know that your daily lifestyle choices actually shape your genetic make-up? And even more, these changes are passed on through our genes! So, how did your grandparents shape your DNA? And what can you do to pass on the best genes to your children and grandchildren?

“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food” Hippocrates, father of medicine (431 B.C).

Would you like to know how to eat your way to great health and top performing genes? In the last 30 years, studies have demonstrated what health benefits individual foods can offer and identify the specific nutrients or chemicals associated with these benefits. We now know that the foods we eat can change the behaviour of genes involved in cancer progression, dementia and other diseases. That sounds crazy, doesn’t it?

We all know how important it is to be physically flexible – what about psychological flexibility? We all experience times in our lives where we behave, think or feel in the same old way – and feel lacking in creativity. Psychological flexibility allows us to be creative, and do things differently. Taking a practical and philosophical approach this class explores the concept of psychological flexibility and how we can develop this important skill.