Manchester this half term will be the showcase for two MND awareness events we’ve been working on with Dr Emma Hodson-Tole and Dr Rickie Patani. We’ll be publishing a series of blogs about what’s happening and why through this week. In the first Dr Emma Hodson-Tole explains what the events are about.
It is coming up to that time of year again when science takes centre stage in Manchester. The ninth Manchester Science Festival has over 130 planned events, providing a unique blend of art, make-it workshops, performances and big experiences aimed at encouraging visitors of all ages to immerse themselves in science, ideas and innovation.
As part of this year’s festival we have developed two activities which we hope will raise awareness of motor neurone disease (MND), the MND Association and some of the research which is supported by the fundraising activities of the charity. The first event is an opportunity to visit the first showing of a video montage, composed by Devin Louttit and Thomas Valentine (MMU), telling some of the stories of those affected by MND and some of the researchers working to development new treatments or methods.
Movement Making at MOSI
The event, Movement Making, will take place at The Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI) on Sunday 25 October and will also provide opportunities to talk directly with researchers from Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) and The Patani Lab as well as see and interact with some of the technology they use as part of their research. This will include the chance to see cells through a microscope, view your own muscles using ultrasound imaging and hear the electrical activity which occurs in muscle when they are activated.
Action Potential at MMU’s ‘Science Extravaganza’
The second event is the premier of an exciting new dance-science collaboration called ‘Action Potential’. Dancers and martial arts performers will stage an interactive dance exploring how we currently understand a motor neurone works, how MND affects the body and the effects MND has on those living with the disease. The dance is choreographed by Anne-Marie Smalldon and is the result of a new collaboration between researchers and professional dancers. In between performances there will also be another opportunity to see the video montage ‘Movement Making’, talk to scientists about their work and volunteers from the MND Association about their experiences of MND.
This event will take place on Saturday 31 October at Manchester Metropolitan University and is part of a range of wider science based activities being staged as part of the University’s ‘Science Extravaganza’ day.
Movement Making: 10.30am – 5pm Sunday 25 October, The Museum of Science & Industry, Manchester, M3 4FP
Action Potential: 11:45am, 2pm and 3pm Saturday 31 October, The John Dalton Building, Manchester Metropolitan University, M1 5GD (Being held as part of MMU Science Extravaganza)
Dr. Emma Hodson-Tole is a member of the Cognitive Motor Function research group at Manchester Metropolitan University. The activities described have been developed in collaboration with Dr. Rickie Patani (UCL), Belinda Cupid (MND Association), Devin Louttit and Thomas Valentine (Manchester Metropolitan University), Combination Dance, Dance Consulting and have been supported by The Wellcome Trust, the MND Association and MMUEngage.
Those of you on Twitter can follow activities related to the Manchester Science Festival using #msf15 and those specific to our activities using #mndmove
