Open Saturday: Coding

Previously, on the third Saturday of each month, the Wellcome Genome Campus would open to the public, allowing people to tour the scenic campus, discover the science that takes place there, and explore an exhibition. With the campus having closed to visitors in March, Open Saturdays were put on pause. Since then we have been busy finding new ways to engage with the public and we are happy to announce September sees a return of these monthly events, with a twist!

Between September and November, the Open Saturday experience is going online. Each month we will bring you a variety of activities, topical conversations, virtual tours of the campus and much more, all brought to you from the comfort of your home.

This September’s Open Saturday theme is set around the current pandemic, and how our campus technicians have been using computer coding to find solutions to questions like: Who was patient zero? How can we trace the virus around the country? How can you get scientists to stop leaving the fridge doors open? We need your help, to solve the mystery.

There will also be the opportunity for face-to-face virtual chat with the researchers and technicians in our  fun filled Talkaoke session! This will be hosted by The People Speak.

Feel free to attend everything, or just drop in for one or two of the activities

2-2:30pm	Introduction and tour of Wellcome Genome Campus	Join a virtual tour, guiding you through our 125 acres site from the beautiful 18th Century Hinxton Hall to the cutting-edge sequencing laboratories, and finishing at the wilds of the wetlands nature reserve.
2:30-3:15pm	Activity 1: How Micro:bit’s provide Tech in the Lab	Join an interactive coding activity where together we will code a Micro: bit, using its sensors to solve two common problems scientist face: Ensuring fridge doors are kept shut and ensuring containers are flat!
2:30-3:15pm	Activity 2: Using DNA sequence to design a diagnostic test	Join us for this hands-on, practical session exploring the use of DNA genome sequences to design diagnostic tests
3:15-3:30pm	Activity 3: The story of a Covid sample – ‘from physical to digital’	From Lighthouse Laboratories to data blenders, learn how a Covid test sample goes from physical to digital in this visual story.
3:30-3:45pm	Activity 4: Trace the spread of the virus	In this activity, you will work with Microreact, an online tool used in the UK and around the world to track the spread of infectious diseases. You will be able to see the results of the UK’s genomic sequencing of COVID in a global context, and will help the scientists answer questions about how the virus has spread through the UK.
3:45-5pm	Talkaoke	Talkaoke is a live, television-style talk show popping out at festivals, clubs, galleries, conferences, on the street and online too! The format is simple: the host sits in the middle of a round table, and you sit around the outside and talk about whatever comes up. In this experimental online version we connect from The People Speak studio in East London and use multiple screens to reflect the 360 degree experience of a real life Talkaoke table.

The People Speak

We collaborate with partners internationally and in the UK, including every Tate gallery, The Science Museum, In-Situ (Pendle), Ravensbourne University and Ice-9 (Norway). Our formats include The Slice Is Right – pizza making under various political systems, Segue – generative, instant film-making factory, Who Wants To Be…? – direct democracy game show, and our flagship pop-up talk show Talkaoke.