Great Exhibition Road Festival - Blast from the Past

The Great Exhibition Road Festival is a free annual celebration of curiosity, discovery and exploration in South Kensington. The location is the doorstap of Imperial College, as well as some of London’s most loved museums, which sets a fantastic backdrop to the festival. I was part of a stand coordinated by Dr. Becky Bell, Prof. Jo Morgan and Prof. Tina van De Flierdt. The exhibition was called “Blast from the Past”, which focused on highlighting some of the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) science done at Imperial College. It was quite amazing to work alongside these incredible academics, and learn more about their work with IODP. The stand included a ‘walkable’ world map of previous and future IODP expedition locations, a giant inflatable version of the Joides Resolution drill ship, and models of cores from a subduction zone, Chicxulub impact crater and deep-ocean paleoclimate records. I was responsible for the subduction zone core, which was a replica of a 1 m section of the well drilled at the hikurangi margin, New Zealand. I got to engage with a wide audience, describing how earthquakes happen at subduction zones, and the importance of better understanding slow-slip events. I coordinated an additional activity, where people could try and put on the ship safety suit in the shortest amount of time. It was a great success!