The countdown begins 🚀 Set your reminders for the 2025 Christmas Lectures, supported by CGI: 28, 29 and 30 December at 7.00pm on BBC Four and iPlayer. Space scientist Maggie Aderin-Pocock will take us on a whistle-stop tour of the Universe searching for evidence of extra-terrestrial life.

Watching Jim al khalili on @rigb.org while wrapping presents. Jim is speaking about Schrödinger, and I realise that this applies to my feelings towards wrapping presents. Hate wrapping, but also love wrapping because it's for my niece. 🤣 youtu.be/k-0pky806Fo?si…

13-year-old me at the @rigb.org Christmas Lectures. Those early experiences helped spark a lifelong love of science. Grateful for institutions that inspire curiosity, opportunity, and future scientists.

From GPS to future clean energy ideas—space isn’t just about distant stars, it’s about our home planet. 🌍 Dr Jaime Reed from CGI, our Title Partner for the 2025 Christmas Lectures, reflects on the importance of engaging young people in the science of space.

Could life on Earth have Martian roots? 👽 From meteorites to microbes, explore the idea that Mars and Earth may have swapped life.

With less than two weeks to go until the 2025 Christmas Lectures, our supporting partner, Aberdeen Investments, celebrates the tradition born out of Michael Faraday's vision and innovation. www.rigb.org/explore-scie...

Mince pies are an integral part of the project 🎄

This instrument is on its way to Mercury right now 🚀 Studying the planet's extreme weather could tell us more about its origins and how it interacts with the Sun.

Imagine a digital shadow of a ship navigating the seas—not science fiction, but real-world climate action. 🚢 The Maritime Twin project, in partnership with CGI, is a leading-edge “digital twin” that fuses real-time satellite data with machine learning. #Thread

Astronomers in the 1800s couldn't figure out the nature of the mysterious 'flames' observed during a total solar eclipse. 🔭 This is the story of how a first-of-its-kind photograph put the controversy to rest.

This year's Christmas Lectures from our friends at @rigb.org with Maggie Aderin-Pocock promise to be out of this world. Catch them on BBC Four and iPlayer on 28, 29 and 30 December:

Limited edition merch for the 200th anniversary of the Christmas Lectures is now available on our fundraising shop! Order before 21 December for UK delivery before Christmas 🎁 Check out the collection: rigb.shop/collection/christmas-lectures-2025

ICYMI: My retrospective of 200 years of the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures (delivered this year by the irrepressible Maggie Aderin-Pocock). www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Some space missions reshaped our view of the cosmos, but are not household names. Discover five that we think deserve more love 🛰️

We're not sour about our Guinness World Record being beaten, because this was so much fun 🍋 2016 Christmas Lecturer, Saiful Islam, tells us about a fantastic moment from his series. 🎄 Don't miss the massive 200th anniversary of the Christmas Lectures, on BBC Four late this December.

It's nearly that time of year again! I'll be spending a chunk of December developing demos, wrangling resources, and painting props backstage at the @rigb.org Christmas Lectures! DYK you can attend a venue to watch a live screening as we record the lectures on 11th, 13th and 16th December?

Ready for lift-off? 🚀 The 2025 Christmas Lectures, supported by CGI, will be on BBC Four and iPlayer on 28, 29 and 30 December at 7.00pm GMT. Join space scientist Maggie Aderin-Pocock as she takes us on a whistle-stop tour of our universe in search of extra-terrestrial life.

Did you know that many of the things you use everyday were originally invented for space travel? 🚀

Exploding bubbles are always a pop-ular demo at our family science shows 🫧💥 Dan Plane, Head of Demo at the Ri, puts the flammable properties of hydrogen into action. Watch the full show here: youtube.com/watch?v=5XOQ-wFF_P4

📢 Announcing Greenhouse Cohort 9 - our largest to date! Welcome startups, we can't wait to see how you develop over the next 12 months! ➡️ www.imperial.ac.uk/news/article... @granthamicl.bsky.social @imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social @rigb.org @co2rehub.bsky.social

Viasat is proud to support @rigb.org's 200th anniversary CHRISTMAS LECTURES®!🎄🔭✨ This year, Dame Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock asks ‘Is there life beyond Earth?’ and takes audiences on a voyage deep into space, from ancient astronomy to the James Webb Telescope: https://vsat.co/49KwOrm

Back by popular demand, we present our modern take on Faraday's classic Christmas Lecture, "The chemical history of a candle". Expect an amazing array of demos starting from the simple candle, explaining the physics of the world around us.

The cloud chamber shows the natural radiation in the atmosphere. ☢️ Peter Wothers shows how, when the charged alpha particles and smaller beta particles fire through its alcohol-heavy atmosphere, they cause little droplets to form, leaving cloud-like trails. ☁️

Earth's atmosphere was initially rich in hydrogen 🌍 Carl Sagan explained why that changed during his legendary 1977 Christmas Lectures. Watch the whole series in our online archive: rigb.org/explore-science/explore/video/planets-earth-planet-1977

There's still time to join tonight's online livestream with our 2025 Christmas Lecturer! 👇

How does carbon dating determine the age of organic material? 🏺 Nanochemist Suze Kundu explains that the technique measures how much of the radioactive isotope carbon-14 has decayed. 🧪 Watch the full talk on the periodic table: youtube.com/watch?v=bgwjnrIL08Y

Dinosaurs were nearly wiped out 66 million years ago, long before the start of the Quaternary ice age. However, #PrehistoricPlanetIceAge shows that the few surviving dinosaurs (birds) would go on to become highly successful. Let's meet the ice age dinosaurs featured in the series! 🪶🧪

What if the next frontier in our fight against climate change stretches from the seabed…all the way into space? 🚀🌊 Seagrass meadows are carbon-capturing powerhouses, absorbing CO₂ up to 35 times faster than rainforests. 🧪 #Thread

At Cambridge I worked with @whipplemuseum.bsky.social and @chuarchives.bsky.social to explore why Bacon’s cell ended up in space 🚀 from Grove’s letter we see that the basic principles were the same - tho the composition of the Bacon’s nickel membrane was kept under the official secrets act 🤫

Ready to put your reaction times to the test? 🎮 Join WiFi Wars for their Christmas Bash: a night of festive fun where you control the action with your phone!

🎧 New podcast episode 🎧 Our 2025 Christmas Lecturer, Maggie Aderin-Pocock, joins us on the podcast to explore the fascinating history of space imaging and her extensive experience in the scientific world. Listen here: creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/...

There are only 30 sleeps until Christmas 🎄The wait for the 2025 Christmas Lectures, supported by CGI, is almost over! If you can't wait until this festive season, dive into our massive video archive, featuring hundreds of Christmas Lectures series, all free to watch 👇

Don't miss tonight's livestream 👇

A 3-year-old has astounded doctors with his progress after becoming the 1st person in the world to receive a ground-breaking gene therapy. Oliver has a rare condition called Hunter syndrome - or MPSII - which causes progressive damage to the body & brain. 🧪🧬 #medsky www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Work opportunity 💻 We are looking for a Salesforce Administrator to join our team! This key role will manage connected Salesforce apps in a multi-cloud environment, managing users and maintaining auditability. Apply on our website before 8 December 👇

This once-overlooked invention from the 1800s was crucial in getting astronauts to the Moon 🌕 Follow us behind the scenes in the Ri Archives as @katysduncan.bsky.social uncovers the history of the Grove voltaic cell.

This demo cannot...flop 💾 Engineer Danielle George showed us a fun application of some old-school floppy drives. Watch the full talk on smart machines here: youtube.com/watch?v=ZK5TABdpLvU 🧪

Last week we welcomed guests to the Zero Ready Dinner. A showcase of the inspirational @undaunted-hq.bsky.social partnership with @imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social  and the @granthamicl.bsky.social, introducing our audience to our journey towards net zero at our Grade I listed home.

To celebrate #BookWeekScotland we've been sharing some of our fave #kidsbooks featuring maths. To round off the week we have a selection of picture books about famous mathematicians from history. Are there any others you'd add? #MathsWeekScot #MathsToday #UKMathsChat #kidslit #kidsbooks #booksky 💙📚

Why do the planets in the Solar System orbit the Sun roughly in the same plane? 🪐 Put simply: when spheres spin, they tend to flatten out. This is also why the Earth isn't a perfect sphere, but it bulges at the equator. 🌍

Why are we seeing the Northern Lights more frequently here in the UK? Planetary scientist Marina Galand illustrates how this is due to a period of peak activity from the Sun ☀️ Watch the full talk: youtube.com/watch?v=DGcYBkw5MQ0

The dinner that gave Faraday FOMO 🫢 Discover the story of the world’s first underwater banquet in the Thames Tunnel through letters uncovered by @brunelmuseum.bsky.social.

Watch the 2025 Christmas Lectures, supported by CGI, as they come to life! 📽️ Organisations across the UK will livestream the lectures as they're being filmed at the Ri this December. www.rigb.org/christmas-le...

💼 Work opportunity We are seeking an enthusiastic and experienced Archivist to continue archiving the Ri’s collection and to review, refine, and further develop our archive structure and systems. Apply here before 24 November: rigb.org/about-us/work-with-us#a7xPy000000hmfhIAA

Potassium and calcium are both metals, but they produce extremely different reactions with water 🫧 💥 Chemistry demonstration virtuoso Andrew Szydlo shows these two elements in action. Watch the full lecture here: youtube.com/watch?v=OYZT3opLedc&t=5174s

The scientific laws of time, space and value allow us to chart how knowledge moves and spreads. Join physicist and data-visualisation expert César Hidalgo as he uncovers how this helps us understand scientific and economic growth and development.

From headphones to Memory Foam, do you know how many everyday things in your home were originally invented for astronauts? Here are our seven favourite surprising items that we wouldn’t have without space travel. #Thread 🚀

Key thought experiments are testing the foundations of physics, namely the interface between quantum physics and general relativity. Join physicist Vlatko Vedral to discover how the realisation of these theories could transform our understanding of the world around us.

📢 JOB ALERT 📢 Come work with me! @rigb.org is hiring an Archivist, full time, 2 year, fixed-term contract, hybrid working possible. Please share widely! More details 👇 www.rigb.org/about-us/wor...

Last Friday, we had the final events for #QuantumWeek2025 with Innovate UK's Quantum Business Showcase and a Quantum Schools Event at @rigb.org with marketplaces featuring quantum businesses and universities. In the evening, Professor Jim Al-Khalili gave a Discourse lecture to a packed audience.