REVIEW of the 23 July performance, by Jessica van Horssen, for the ICHSTM daily conference newsletter:
“The Victorian Science Spectacular that was performed for iCHSTM attendees and the public yesterday was indeed spectacular. It was also an excellent way to disseminate scientific and historical knowledge to a broad audience, which is something we have discussed at great length this week.
“Audience members were taken back in time to witness an Edwardian/Victorian science show, which would have traditionally been performed to entertain audiences in the evenings. Although phonographs and electric sparks may seem rather rudimentary to us today, we were quickly drawn back over 100 years and ooh-ed, ahh-ed, laughed, and clapped at the marvels that were (and indeed, still are) electric currents, the combustion engine, sound recordings, X-ray machines, cinematographs, and magic lantern shows. In the process, the performance highlighted issues such as women’s suffrage, the temperance movement, and the tension between those who favoured British inventions, and those who preferred American ones.
“Performed by three historians and one circus performer, the Victorian Science Spectacular was an amazing way to experience the traditions and excitement of the science of the past. Many of the technologies used in the performance came from the basement of Aberystwyth University’s Physics Department. What’s lurking in your basement??”
Facebook post by University of Chicago Press, July 25:
“The Victorian Science Spectacular was really just what it said in the tin! Delivered by scientists kitted out in dapper 19th Century fashions, the presenting team wove together two hours of tall tales with showcases of groundbreaking ‘new’ discoveries including the shockingly complex cinematograph. The talks were topped off with a thrilling show of chemical mischief, as we investigated the effects of various gases on a flame, and were treated to a selection of carefully constructed flashes and bangs!”
