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Saturday, May 26 • 1:00pm - 1:50pm
The Science of Frankenstein

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At the turn of the 19th century in Italy, Alessandro Volta and Luigi Galvani sparred over the physiological effects of electricity. Volta’s Pile (the first electrical battery) had new practical applications in chemistry and medicine where the followers of “Galvanism” felt that electric currents were the vital source of life.

The greatest proponent of this theory, Giovanni Aldini took the electro-medical experiments to the extreme, proposing that electric shocks could revive the dead. The macabre public experiments by Aldini and other “resurrectionists” would horrify audiences… and eventually inspire Mary Shelley’s famous story of the resurrected monster, Frankenstein.

Dean Howarth recounts these unsettling stories and recreates (legally!) some of the experiments done by these controversial scientists. Starring Dean Howarth as "the Galvanist" and Rachel OConnell as Mary Shelley.
Speakers
avatar for Dean Howarth

Dean Howarth

The Natural Philosopher
Dean Howarth, a veteran physics teacher, brings history to life at museums, historic sites, festivals, conferences, schools, science and history camps, and other institutions with connections to both science and history. For over 20 years he has engaged in historical interpretation... Read More →
RO

Staff
avatar for Stacy Bruss

Stacy Bruss

Director, Event Programming, Museum of Science Fiction
Stacy Bruss, MS, MSIS, is a reference librarian at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). At NIST, she supports all Physical Measurement Laboratory researchers and manages the Innovation Hub, a center with 3-D printers, technology bar, data visualization tools... Read More →
Saturday May 26, 2018 1:00pm - 1:50pm EDT
Exhibit Hall - B18 (Stage)
  Science, Performance

Attendees (26)