Science stand up: new Cardiff Bright Club mixes brains, beers, and jokes

A group of scientists are trying out new ways of engaging with the public through stand up comedy sessions in Cardiff. Scientist Edward Gomez explains

Cardiff academics took to the stage for a spot of stand up as a new club for brainy comedians gets underway in the city Photograph: Edward Gomez

It was back in '97 when I was inspired to engage more with the public, after giving a talk about cosmology in Cardiff University, School of Physics and Astronomy.

This is was my first public talk and I was terrified. I had half an hour to talk about the Enûma Eliš (Babylonian creation myth), Genesis creation story, and the Big Bang. No powerpoint, hand-written slides, and a nervous 20-year-old, only by the time the questions from the audience came had I finally relaxed and realised this was the most exciting part.

Read the rest of the story on the Guardian Blog here http://www.guardian.co.uk/cardiff/2011/mar/21/the-bright-club-cardiff-comedy-club-academics-stand-up

Edward Gomez is a scientist working for Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Networkand blogs over at Dark Matter Sheep here – he's also on Twitter @zemogle.