This was much more than a straight exhibition – researchers involved in the scientific fields represented were present, accompanied by an array of interactive equipment.

I was there for about two and half hours and didn’t make much progress getting to see all of the exhibition.

Taking part in the interactive exhibits, along with absorbing discussions with researchers, slowed down my progress somewhat!

From what I did get to see, the following stood out for me:

• Wonder in carbon land: how do you hold a molecule? – Buckyballs, nanotubes, fullerenes and quantum computers.
• From hard-disk to healthcare: what can spintronics do for you? – A new field of research based on a property of electrons known as their spin or magnetic moment.
• Exploring the Solar System: mankind or machine? – How should the UK explore space?
• Back to the Big Bang? At the Large Hadron Collider – After a 25-year wait scientists will turn on the Large Hadron Collider.
• Spot the penguin? – Automatic biometric fingerprinting of animals in natural habitats.

All in all a fascinating exhibition – I just wish I could have seen more of it!