Light and colour at the Cambridge Science Festival

This year’s Cambridge Science Festival (9-22 March) will include a science art installation exploring mindfulness, EEG and positive visualisation in trauma recovery.

The MindSong project was inspired by the case of Patient h69 who, in 2012, lost her sight suddenly. Using a combination of mindfulness and visualisation exercises, she was able to cope with this trauma by retreating to an imagined beach where she relived her experiences of light and colour, slowly coming to terms with the loss of her sight. This experience led to the Mindsong project.

MindSong aims to give visitors an experience of what it is like to be in Patient h69’s mind, using an EEG headset to transform brain activity into an experience of colours, lights and sound. The data collected will contribute to research at the University of Cambridge, overseen by Dr Tristan Bekinschtein, the science curator of the project. This installation runs from 10-15 March.

In addition to the MindSong Project free mindfulness taster workshops are being offered for adults and children. These are being run by Dr Ann-Marie Golden, a psychologist specialising in mindfulness practises and techniques.

Other events include the Faculty of Education's Psychology & Education group on ‘What is the point of playing?’ (Tuesday 10 March); a ‘resilience and stress management organiser’ led by Professor Barbara Sahakian (Thursday 12 March), and Professor Patrick Bateson on ‘the science of living playfully’ (Thursday 19 March).