‘A Tale of Two Penguins’ – Café Science Summer Special on 6th August

Published On Thu 31 Jul 2014 by Roddy Isles

The tale of two penguins that came to reside in Dundee will be told at a Café Science Summer Special event next week.

The D’Arcy Thompson Zoology Museum at the University of Dundee holds two penguin specimens that each has extraordinary stories to tell, connecting Dundee’s whaling industry with pioneering Antarctic exploration.

Matthew Jarron, Curator of Museum Services at the University, will explain how these penguins came to be in D’Arcy Thompson’s collection and how a Dundee student became part of the first expedition in the world to reach the South Magnetic Pole when he leads the event at Dundee Science Centre on Wednesday, 6th August.

Following the illustrated talk, there will be a chance to visit the museum and see the penguins, one an Emperor who was known to accompany students on pub crawls and the other a King who was gifted to D’Arcy Thompson by renowned explorer Ernest Shackleton.

“The stories behind these two penguins are fascinating and are intrinsically linked to Dundee’s industrial heritage and legacy of scientific exploration,” explained Matthew. “There are also humorous human stories at the heart of the penguins’ time at Dundee and the event also gives people the chance to see them in place at the D’Arcy Thompson Zoology Museum, alongside the extensive collection of specimens from around the world.”

Café Science was launched in January 2008, and has attracted more than 5000 visitors since then. The monthly events are informal discussions led by leading local researchers that allow members of the public the opportunity to learn more about the ground-breaking science at the Universities of Dundee, St Andrews and Abertay, the James Hutton Institute, and Dundee Science Centre.

‘A Tale of Two Penguins’ takes place at Dundee Science Centre from 7pm on Wednesday, 6th August. The event is free and open to all. There is no need to book in advance but an early arrival is recommended.

More information is available at www.cafesciencedundee.co.uk

Roddy Isles
Head of Press
TEL: 01382 384910
MOBILE: 07800 581902
E-MAIL: r.isles@dundee.ac.uk