See more: An illustrated version of this article will be published within the next two weeks on our CultureLab books and arts blog
As millions prepare to descend on the UK for the Olympic Games, CultureLab takes a look at the best science-related culture for the season
THE cultural side of London鈥檚 Olympic Games was harangued last month by Lord Winston, a prominent medic, in UK newspaper . The organisers of the Cultural Olympiad, he said, should 鈥渉ang their heads in shame鈥� at the lack of science in the four-year celebration. Fret not, there is plenty of science out there and we have hunted down the best events for you to enjoy in the UK over the Olympic and Paralympic period.
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Sport science is a must. , by artist Simon McKeown, is an installation at London鈥檚 Southbank Centre which combines sculpture, film and digital technology to capture the way Paralympians move. On a similar tack, Anatomy of an Athlete at London鈥檚 Hunterian Museum brings together waxworks, film and illustrations to show how athletes can recover from serious injury or disability to keep competing.
It鈥檚 not just athleticism on show. is a series of multimedia exhibits on the Jurassic Coast in Dorset and east Devon, where the Olympic sailing events will be held. Five artists have created artworks underpinned by Earth sciences research, such as Zachary Eastwood-Bloom鈥檚 of the coastline with assistance from geoinformatician Andy Ford.
London鈥檚 museum hub, , is hosting a pop-up cultural extravaganza that has a host of science-inspired installations, including sculptures created and inhabited by bees, orchestrated by artist . Also on show will be a meteorite that has been melted down and recast as itself by artist .
Further north, at Hadrian鈥檚 Wall on the Scottish border, a host of multicoloured balloons will pulsate when short messages are sent along a fibre-optic cable spanning the length of the historical barrier. , on show at the end of August, has been designed by New York-based digital art collective YesYesNo.
If music is more your thing, British composer 12-minute opera 窜谩迟辞辫别办!, prompted by the vim of the eponymous long-distance runner鈥檚 personality and the vigour of his training, plays at the Southbank Centre on 15 July, the BBC Proms will feature her Calculus of the Nervous System, inspired by mathematician Ada Lovelace.
And if you are lucky enough to be at the Olympic Park itself, remember to check out Anish Kapoor鈥檚 striking sculpture and feat of engineering, ArcelorMittal Orbit.