Highlights this winter include:

"¢ Scientists"š artists and manufacturers who are combating Christmas waste with green designs for food"š packaging and presents will discuss their ideas and innovations.

"¢ Can video games be a useful educational tool? Or should parents and teachers be wary of them? An event explaining how games could provide a new way to interact and teach children in our classrooms

"¢ Professor Richard Wiseman"š University of Hertfordshire"š heads up the first Dana Centre event of 2007 with a look at new-year health resolutions and the notion of self-improvement

"¢ A frank debate on the possibility of full face transplants and the genuine hope they offer for many people with facial disfigurements. But are the risks too high for a non-lifesaving operation?

Renowned for creating innovative events including live debates with some of the biggest movers and shakers in the science world"Å¡ art installations"Å¡ performance"Å¡ live surgery and stand-up comedy"Å¡ the Dana Centre is open to anybody over the age of 18 who wants a thought-provoking and"Å¡ ultimately"Å¡ different night out.

The Dana Centre is a young"Å¡ controversial and experimental venue challenging public perceptions about science"Å¡ health"Å¡ medicine"Å¡ the environment and technology.

December Events

Dreaming of a Green Christmas?: This Yuletide the UK will produce three million tonnes of rubbish alone. Scientists"Å¡ artists and manufacturers who are combating Christmas waste with green designs for food"Å¡ packaging and presents will discuss their ideas and innovations. This event is supported by SITA Trust and Defra.

Playing to Learn"Å¡ Learning to Play: Can video games be a useful educational tool? Or should parents and teachers be wary of them? An event explaining how games could provide a new way to interact and teach children in our classrooms. This event is sponsored by Nintendo and will be webcast live.

Dinner@Dana: Life in the freezer: Hostile"š yet breathtakingly beautiful"š the Antarctic is full of extremes. Engineer Mike Rose from the British Antarctic Survey reveals how scientists live and carry out vital research in the coldest"š highest and windiest continent on the planet. This evening costs £13 per person"š which includes a two-course meal and a drink.

Coping with Christmas: "Tis the season to be jolly"¦." Or does Christmas fill you with dread? Family bonding or battles? A time of giving or just hype and expense? Love it or hate it"š this event will help the nation get the best out of Christmas. This event has been organised by EDAB and the Institute of Psychiatry.

God rest ye merry scientists: With Christmas around the corner"Å¡ the Dana Centre asks if religion and science can tell each other anything. Are they really two opposing ways of seeing the world? Audiences can find out more about why we believe in religion and science! This event has been organised by EDAB and Imperial College"Å¡ London.

January 2007 Events: Professor Richard Wiseman"Å¡ Public Understanding of Psychology"Å¡ University of Hertfordshire"Å¡ heads up the first Dana Centre event of 2007 with a look at New Year health resolutions and the notion of self-improvement though new research he's conducted. He'll be joined by a panel of experts to discuss the resolutions made and why they're often so difficult to keep

Our Sci-Fi Future: Cyborgs"Å¡ human clones"Å¡ computer-brain interfaces - which route could science take us down first? A discussion of science fact and fiction in some of the best-loved sci-fi flicks"Å¡ plus a peek into what a sci-fi future might look like.

Blow Your Mind: A journey into the fundamentally bizarre with Dr Brian Cox"š broadcaster and particle physicist"š and Brian Clegg"š author of the bestselling book Infinity. They are joined by other eminent physicists to check out the Universe's most awesome theories and the questions that only physics can answer. What is matter? What happened at the beginning? Who was Schrödinger's cat? A trip to the frontier of human knowledge with experts who speak in plain English.

Punk Science: Know It All: A fusion of science"Å¡ comedy"Å¡ music"Å¡ live experiments"Å¡ video clips"Å¡ slide shows and interactive voting"Å¡ as Punk Science answer some of the biggest and most important scientific quandaries of our time. What"Å¡ they will ask"Å¡ is a black hole? How will the Universe end? Is there life after death? Is time travel possible? And are ladybirds trying to take over the world?

In Pursuit of Pain: Pain: invisible"Å¡ elusive"Å¡ dangerous"Å¡ protective. Pain profoundly affects body and mind. But what exactly is it? Why is it so difficult to treat? Acupuncture seems to help some"Å¡ but no-one really knows why. And how does cannabis relieve pain? This event has been organised by EDAB.

Face Transplant: Would you be willing to donate your face for transplant? The possibility of full face transplants offers genuine hope for many people with facial disfigurements. But are the risks to high for a non-lifesaving operation? Are such operations taking things too far? A full and frank debate on one of most contentious medical advances in recent times with Professor Nicky Rumsey and Mr James Partridge of Changing Faces.

The Power of Hypnosis: Hypnosis intrigues us. It can generate strange and fascinating experiences"Å¡ but at the same time we fear we might lose control. Are our beliefs justified? Psychologist Peter Naish will reveal some of the mysteries of this state of consciousness. This event has been organised by EDAB.

Dinner@Dana: Under Pressure!: A small amount of stress is essential for day-to-day living"š but prolonged and exaggerated periods can lead to extreme health and emotional problems including chest pains"š dizziness"š nausea"š stokes and impotence. Under Pressure! will look at stress in modern day life with a representative from the Health & Emotion Research Group at Anglia Ruskin University. This event has been organised by Café Scientifique and is £13 and includes dinner"š a drink and discussion.

Meteorological Magic: Quintessentially English weather - be it freezing fog"Å¡ gale-force winds or mizzling rain - never ceases to be a talking point across the country. Meteorological Magic explores the science of prediction"Å¡ how forecasts are made and what climate patterns hold in store. Speakers include controversial meteorologist"Å¡ Piers Corbyn from Weather Action who claims that he has a system enabling him to predict the weather with accuracy months in advance using solar weather technique.

Tomorrow's Science: Futurologists are scanning the horizon for scientific risks and technological revolutions"Å¡ but what do they think will affect our lives in the coming years? Tomorrow's Science looks at how the experts predict the future and what it might mean for the world.

DrugsFutures: Will our attitudes to drugs change? Will children be popping 'smart pills' before exams? What kind of drug use will society accept? DrugsFutures marks the launch of a public consultation run by the Academy of Medical Sciences DrugsFutures project. The event will give the public the rare opportunity to feed directly into policy-making"Å¡ including aspirations and concerns about current and future issues related to brain science"Å¡ addiction and drugs This event has been programmed by the BA"Å¡ EDAB and the Science Museum.

February Highlights: For the first time"Å¡ a live kidney transplant operation will be broadcast to a public audience in the UK. Visitors to the Dana Centre in London will have the opportunity to not only watch live surgery - seeing the kidney transplanted from a live donor to recipient - but to direct questions to the surgical team in the USA whilst the operation takes place. The surgery will be broadcast live to the Science Museum's Dana Centre from at Saint Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston.

Lets talk about Sex: Quiz"Å¡ Debate and TXT: The Dana Centre will be holding three events looking at sex including an interactive quiz"Å¡ debate and text messaging night. The series launches with a quiz show featuring scientists and comedians pondering questions including the evolution of orgasms and a look at what science can tell us about sex. The event will make use of objects from the world-renowned Wellcome medical collections held at the Science Museum"Å¡ including chastity belts"Å¡ vibrators and anti-masturbation devices.

The series will continue with a debate about sexuality and gender including a look at genetic dispositions to homo- or heterosexuality"Å¡ and the extent to which gender is genetically or socially determined.

The final event is a 'text'alogue to explore how science has affected sexual health; the implications of new medications and technologies; and how the impact of these varies widely depending on gender and why this might be.

Bi-centenary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade: The Dana Centre will be celebrating the bi-centenary of the abolition of slavery with an event tackling the issues surrounding tracing genetic lineage and the legacy of slavery. Questions raised will include: Is DNA the key to finding your African or European roots? Can genetic testing give you a better sense of who you are? This event has been curated by Prof. Elizabeth Anionwu"Å¡ Head"Å¡ The Mary Seacole Centre for Nursing Practice.

By www.sciencemuseum.org.uk