Category: Science Group

At our February meeting David Vincent, ably assisted by Christine, presented a very interesting Part 2 of the ‘Greening of Nottinghamshire’

He described the early planning stages and then went on to explain how the many coal spoil heaps in the county were transformed into the country parks and in some cases farmland that we enjoy today.

In addition to the spoil heaps there were miles of interconnecting railway lines, many of which are now walking and cycling trails.

You may recognise Linby Colliery

March Meeting Friday 15^th 10.00 am JGC

Terry Hill will be telling the tale of ‘The Unlucky 7’ scientists who came to a premature end.

I will be introducing an environmental theme starting with the location of rainforests and their climate plus exploring the significance of the different layers of the rainforest.

Finally there will be a briefing about the April visit to Oxford.

David Rose

To accommodate the pantomime at John Godber Centre, we met a week early on the 12^th January and we continued the photography theme.

Firstly we looked at an early method of producing a photographic image called Cyanotype.

All members of the group attending in February will be carrying out this process to make their own.  Here’s one I made earlier…..

Following on from this John Tedstone gave a presentation about a Victorian photographic pioneer named Julia Margaret Cameron who was one of the most important figures in early photography.  She lived at Dimbola, on the Isle of Wight, in the 1860s. The photographs she created remain among the most famous images of many Victorian celebrities.

Finally we had a ‘slide show’ about Oxford and the science museums as a prelude to our visit on April 19^th.

February Meeting: Friday 16^th.

a) A practical session to make a cyanotype image

b) Part 2 of David Vincent’s presentations about ‘The Greening of Nottinghamshire’

David Rose

Our first meeting of 2024 is a week earlier than usual on Friday 12^th January 10.00am in the main hall at JGC

The original plan was for everyone to create a fixed cyanotype ‘photographic’ image of selected objects but now the practical element will take place as part of the February meeting.

This month we will cover the theory of this process and learn the basics of how to carry it out.

As part of this we will be a look at how photography techniques evolved alongside advances in physics, chemistry and technology.

The 2024 Science Visit to Oxford is on Friday 19^th April

8.15am depart from Ogle Street   return from Oxford at 5.15p eta in Hucknall by 8.00pm

The cost is £23.00 each. £3.00 of this is to book group entry to the Museum of Natural History and the Pitt Rivers Museum which is on the same site.

More details at this meeting and bookings will start at this meeting.

 Following my master class with our treasurer Gary the payment by card machine will hopefully be available for use.

If you wish to pay by cheque please make it payable to ‘Hucknall and District u3a’

Please write your name and ‘Science Visit’ on the back.

David Rose

In November Ann and Ian Murray presented an illustrated talk about Volcanoes. They explained that a volcano is a rupture in the crust of the Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface.

On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates are diverging or converging and most are found underwater. It is a topical theme as there are current concerns about the situation in Iceland.

They then described their visit to Pompeii where the destructive effect of the eruption of Vesuvius had on that city is well preserved.

After the break John Tedstone described a visit to W.Winters of Derby the oldest continuously working photographers in the UK. It is still a photographer’s studio and a heritage centre.

December- No meeting

January – Revised date Friday 12^th (To accommodate the Robin Hood pantomime at JGC on the 19^th)

We will be making some simple cyanotype ‘photographic’ images.

More details will be sent to the group in advance of the meeting.

Merry Christmas to all our readers

David Rose

Our October meeting began with Part 1 of a theme entitled  ‘The Greening of Nottinghamshire’ presented by David Vincent.

Following the Aberfan disaster new laws were passed regarding coal mining spoil heaps. David was part of the Nottinghamshire County team formed with the task of transforming and making safe the spoil heaps dotted around the county.

In Part 2 in February, David will explain how they set about this task of changing vast quantities of somewhat unstable and toxic waste into our country parks.

After the break we had an introduction to the history of photography which included looking at some ‘older style’ cameras bought in by members.

David Jackson explained how he approached photographing wildlife and gave the group some ideas of how to start from our own back gardens.

Some of David’s excellent photos were then viewed including this successful Kingfisher.

November 17^th

Volcanoes with a focus on Vesuvius -Ann and Ian Murray

How knowledge of physics and chemistry led the progress of Photography and a visit to the oldest working photographic studio in Derby – John Tedstone

(Did you know that David was the most popular boy’s name from the late 1940s through to 1974 when 1 in 20 boys were named David .We have 7 Davids in the Science Group.)

David Rose