Talk to Accompany The Way Science Works

In March 2003 I fulfilled a long-held ambition when I gave a talk with demonstrations and audience participation based on my children’s popular science book The Way Science Works for patients at Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital in London. Ever since I was a patient at GOSH as a child I had wanted to return and give something back to the hospital that helped me so much. 

The experiments I demonstrated included making a compass from everyday items, and creating an optical illusion from a single sheet of paper. As you can see from the pictures below, the schoolroom at GOSH was full of eager volunteers keen to help me with these experiments!

Image 1 of Sharon Ann giving a science demonstration at Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital in 2003
Some of the children who attended Sharon Ann's talk at Great Ormond Street Hospital in 2003
Sharon Ann demonstrating one of the science experiments during her talk at Great Ormond Street children's hospital in 2003

Press coverage included a TV news feature by British Satellite News who filmed the talk and interviewed me about The Way Science Works (click below to watch the footage), a news item on the Institute of Physics website and a story on page 14 of ‘Actualités Scientifiques au Royamme-Uni’ by the Science and Technology Department of the French Embassy.  

I also gave this talk at the launch of The Way Science Works at the Science Museum in London in April 2002.

Sharon Ann signing books at the Science Museum in London
Photo: Ian Rennison