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IF Oxford returns as a digital science and ideas Festival with 100 online events in October. There’s something for everyone, with activities for young children and families, or sessions for teenagers and adults to enjoy alone or as a group from the safety and comfort of home.

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Inside the COVID Brain

17 October

COVID-19 has been this year’s big disrupter and life might not return to normal for a long time to come. The Explorazone finale takes you on a live tour with the help of a volunteer and a powerful brain scanner to understand the effects this coronavirus can have on the human body. There will be time to ask questions about the research and hear the experience of at least one COVID-19 survivor.

Book tickets for Inside the COVID Brain

SMALL HOURS

19 October (premiere)

Why do we need sleep? What happens when we go without it? The 50-minute play small hours probes the mysteries of human circadian rhythm, the daily pattern of wakefulness and sleep, and how this can be either disrupted or adjusted. Filmed over four days during the COVID pandemic in different locations across Europe, join this journey of self-exploration and see where it might lead you.

Book tickets for small hours

Neurotales (2 events)

20 and 27 October

The brain is host to many mysteries. It controls so much of what we do and who we are, but how? In the first of two events, meet researchers who have dedicated their working lives to finding out the mysteries of the mind – join their personal stories that shine a light on the human element that influences science.

Book tickets for NeuroTales

Eternal Sunshine: the scientific possibility of a spotless mind

24 October

Join a discussion about the scientific possibility of erasing someone's memories – the idea raised in the cult film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004). With an infectious curiosity for understanding the world around us, actor and science communicator Stephen McGann dissects the film's premise and learns how memories are formed, what happens when we forget and what consciousness has to do with it. 

Book tickets for Eternal Sunshine