Cheryl & ethnovet: Science and the Victorian public

Friday 28 October 2016

Science and the Victorian public

(Leicester)

Friday 18 November | 13.30–14.30

At the height of the Victorian age, magic lantern shows were a stunning feat of entertainment, and the precursor to modern-day cinema. As part of Literary Leicester 2016, visitors can attend a recreation of a 19th-century magic lantern show featuring historical actors. We will present a typical Victorian scientific lecture, during which audiences will experience the ambience of the lantern as well as learn how subjects like evolution, dinosaurs and geology were presented through glass slides and electric light. After the performance, the audience can see the lantern and slides for themselves, and ask the historical actors questions about the content and contexts of this fascinating Victorian technology.