Science and nature courses in London
Look to the stars or stay closer to home with a wide range of topical and specialist short courses on subjects including astronomy, evolution, ecosystems and genetics that are ideal for anyone curious about our planet and what lies beyond it.
Read City Lit tutor Brenna Boyle's guide to London's diverse wildlife.
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Introduction to cyber security essentials
Course Date: Sun 30 Jun 2019 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: KS - Keeley StreetLearn how to protect your personal or business data from cyber security attacks in this short course. You will learn how to deploy basic technical controls into your personal or organisation data information systems to ensure that basic technical security measures are in place.Full fee: £99.00Senior fee: £79.00Concession: £50.00 -
Stay safe online
Course Date: Tue 16 Jul 2019 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: KS - Keeley StreetWhat does identify theft entail? What risks do you run? Learn how to protect yourself from identify theft on this course.Full fee: £39.00Senior fee: £31.00Concession: £20.00 -
The physics of time
Course Date: Sat 20 Jul 2019 (and 2 other dates)
Location on this date: KS - Keeley StreetWe will explore the various different conceptions of time within modern physics. The absolute time of Newtonian mechanics is contrasted with the relativistic time of Einsteinian gravity. The possibility that time is quantized, made up of discrete moments, is seen to emerge in some of the most cutting edge theories of physics, such as loop quantum gravity and string theory. The emergence of time in the big bang, the direction of time, and the possibility of time travel are all explored.Full fee: £49.00Senior fee: £39.00Concession: £25.00 -
The geology beneath British landscapes
Course Date: Sun 28 Jul 2019
Location on this date: KS - Keeley StreetBritain encompasses a fascinating variety of beautiful landscapes, from the lakes and hills of the north-west to the flatlands of East Anglia. This course gives you a practical introduction to the unique geology beneath these areas, covering main rock types and geological periods.Full fee: £49.00Senior fee: £39.00Concession: £25.00 -
Introduction to machine learning
Course Date: Mon 16 Sep 2019 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: KS - Keeley StreetOne of the great advances in technology is that machines can learn without humans teaching them explicit rules – e.g. letting machines train on samples of speech allows Siri to recognise your commands. Machine learning is a large part of artificial intelligence, and a mystery to most of us. This practical course teaches you how to program learning algorithms in Python. We will cover fundamentals of classification, natural language processing, financial predictions and much more. You will learn elements of data mining, how to choose a learning algorithm, and how to tweak parameters of the algorithm. We will briefly cover the theory behind the algorithms, so some maths knowledge is useful, but not required. To enrol, you must have experience with Python or a similar programming language, e.g. have taken City Lit’s Introduction to Python or Introduction to R programming course.Full fee: £249.00Senior fee: £249.00Concession: £152.00 -
Astronomy: a gentle introduction
Course Date: Sun 22 Sep 2019 (and 2 other dates)
Location on this date: KS - Keeley StreetA leisurely walk through back garden astronomy. Learn how to find your way around the constellations, whether to buy a telescope, how to find planets and look safely at the sun. Find out why astronomy is good for you.Full fee: £59.00Senior fee: £47.00Concession: £30.00 -
Walking London's heaths and commons
Course Date: Sun 22 Sep 2019
Location on this date: KS - Keeley StreetDiscover the wildlife, habitats and environmental history of London’s heaths and commons during this relaxed walking programme. First session at City Lit followed by three guided walks of approximately 2 hours within easy access of central London.
Brenna Boyle (B.Sc Hons Dunelm, M.Sc DIC) is a zoologist, wildlife guide and environmental teacher. She runs Wild Capital; London's wildlife discovery service and also works for two urban environmental education charities.Full fee: £79.00Senior fee: £63.00Concession: £40.00 -
Autumn wildlife walks
Course Date: Tue 24 Sep 2019
Location on this date: KS - Keeley StreetGlorious autumnal colours, fungi, migrating birds and the deer rut are just some of the natural history spectacles of autumn. Discover more through one introductory class at City Lit followed by four gentle, guided nature walks at a range of sites within London. Classroom session: 10.15-12.15; offsite walks: 11:00-13:00.
Brenna Boyle (B.Sc Hons Dunelm, M.Sc DIC) is a zoologist, wildlife guide and environmental teacher. She runs Wild Capital; London's wildlife discovery service and also works for two urban environmental education charities.Full fee: £99.00Senior fee: £79.00Concession: £44.00 -
Cosmology
Course Date: Thu 3 Oct 2019
Location on this date: KS - Keeley StreetDo you want to know about the origin and future of the universe? Will the universe expand forever? Discuss the latest evidence. Examine the current theories. Repeat the most important cosmological observation ever made!Full fee: £149.00Senior fee: £149.00Concession: £66.00 -
Science guest lecture: Professor Hilary Downes: Lost planets of the solar system - the evidence from meteorites
Course Date: Fri 4 Oct 2019
Location on this date: KS - Keeley StreetHilary Downes, Professor of Geochemistry, Birkbeck, University of London, helps us to understand the history of the Solar System through the evidence from meteorites.
The early Solar System was a violent place with many collisions between different asteroids and planetary embryos. The results of this chaos can be seen in meteorites which have fallen to Earth. Some meteorites can be linked with planets or asteroids that are still in the Solar System, such as the Moon, Mars and asteroid Vesta, but many meteorites contain small fragments of planets and asteroids which have been otherwise lost or destroyed.
Prof Downes’s work in geological sciences has included research into volcanic deposits in Canada and France as well as studies of fragments of the Earth's mantle ("xenoliths") which are brought to the surface in volcanic eruptions. Now Professor of Geochemistry in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Birkbeck, she also works in the study of meteorites in collaboration with colleagues at the Natural History Museum and NASA.Full fee: £15.00Senior fee: £15.00Concession: £15.00 -
Trees of London
Course Date: Sat 12 Oct 2019
Location on this date: KS - Keeley StreetWould you like to know your ash from your elm, your plane from your maple? Learn key clues for identification in class followed by a gentle stroll round local gardens and squares to enjoy the rich diversity of introduced and native trees. A must for all tree lovers.Full fee: £149.00Senior fee: £119.00Concession: £75.00 -
Meet the Great Apes: orangutans, gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos and humans
Course Date: Sat 12 Oct 2019
Location on this date: KS - Keeley StreetToday's apes are few in number but, millions of years ago, apes ruled the primate world. Discover why they were so successful and why they disappeared. Explore key topics in their evolution and find out about great apes around the world today.
Dr Kathleen Bryson received her PhD in Biological Anthropology from University College London, and has taught human evolution and primatology at UCL, and Westminster School. She specialises in studies of ambiguity tolerance in humans and other great apes, in particular evolutionary theory applied to ingroup/outgroup distinctions. .Full fee: £59.00Senior fee: £47.00Concession: £30.00 -
Practising birdwatching in winter
Course Date: Wed 16 Oct 2019
Location on this date: KS - Keeley StreetEnjoy fresh air and varied scenery on this relaxed course spotting and identifying London’s birdlife. Learn about avian natural history and improve your wildlife watching skills. First session at City Lit 10.15 -12.15 followed by three guided fieldtrips in different London locations 11:00 - 13:00.
Brenna Boyle (B.Sc Hons Dunelm, M.Sc DIC) is a zoologist, wildlife guide and environmental teacher. She runs Wild Capital; London's wildlife discovery service and also works for two urban environmental education charities.Full fee: £79.00Senior fee: £63.00Concession: £35.00 -
Science guest lecture : Professor Matthew Longo: the body in the brain - the psychology and neuroscience of body perception
Course Date: Fri 18 Oct 2019
Location on this date: KS - Keeley StreetThough our own body is perhaps the most familiar of all objects in the world, recent findings have revealed that in many cases the brain appears to maintain remarkably impoverished and distorted body representations.Professor Longo's lecture will explore the mental representation of our body and how this shapes perception.
Matthew Longo is Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience in the Department of Psychological Sciences at Birkbeck, University of London where he directs the Body Representation Laboratory. He is a Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science.
I.Full fee: £15.00Senior fee: £15.00Concession: £15.00 -
Introduction to artificial intelligence
Course Date: Sun 20 Oct 2019
Location on this date: KS - Keeley StreetStephen Hawking and Elon Musk say it's humanity's biggest threat, but you use it every day. Learn what artificial intelligence is, what it will become, and how it works.Full fee: £99.00Senior fee: £99.00Concession: £99.00
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