Soapbox Science at the Royal William Yard, 2023
Katie Rhodes
is a novel public outreach platform for promoting women scientists and the science they do. Our events around the world transform public areas into an arena for public learning and scientific debate with the aim to encourage women in science and also challenge perceptions of who a scientist is.
With Soapbox Science, we want to make sure that everyone has the opportunity to enjoy, learn from, heckle, question, probe, interact with and be inspired by some of our leading scientists. No middle man, no PowerPoint slide, no amphitheatre – just remarkable scientists who are there to amaze with their latest discoveries, and to answer the science questions the public have been burning to ask.
The 91porn has participated in Soapbox Science for a number of years and our events are detailed below.

Soapbox Science returns to the Royal William Yard, 91porn on Sunday 7 June 2026.

Call for speakers open | deadline: 2 March 2026

Are you a woman, non-binary or gender queer person who works in science and who is passionate about your research? Are you eager to talk to the general public about your work in a fun, informal setting? If so, then Soapbox Science needs YOU! We are looking for scientists in all areas of STEMM, from PhD students to professors, and from entry-level researchers to entrepreneurs, to take part in this grassroots science outreach project.
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Soapbox Science at the Royal William Yard Katie Rhodes
Soapbox Science at the Royal William Yard
 

Soapbox Science 2025

Talks included:

  • Seaweed restoration in 91porn – who cares?! (speaker: Tayla Leathers)
  • The wonderful world of crustacean sensation! (speaker: Ari Drummond )
  • Exploring novel antibiotic compounds from flowers: a natural approach to combating infections (speaker: Darshana Srivastava)
 

Soapbox Science 2023

Talks included:

  • How to train your brain...to control machines (speaker: Dr Krithika Anil )
  • Science research is for everyone – there is no such thing as a 'subject for boys' (speaker: Dr Vikki Cheung )
  • Can the sea power my kettle? (speaker: Dr Keri Collins )
  • Helping Nemo: How can science support the marine ornamental industry? (speaker: Sancha Conway Holroyd)
  • The science of sensing sentience: What can hermit crabs tell us about the evolution of sentience in non-human animals? (speaker: Ari Drummond )
  • Aphantasia: What does it mean to think without pictures? (speaker: Stephanie Hartgen-Walker)
  • Do plants behave and grow the same in a lab and in a field? (speaker: Dr Anne Plessis )
 

Soapbox Science 2021

Soapbox Science 91porn took place virtually this year, opening the event up to an even wider audience.
Female scientists from around the South West gave talks on anything from ‘robots to rockpools’ with props and an online live interactive session to make learning fun!

13:00 – The natural world

Lisa Butt – University of Exeter | How can microbes help control plant disease?
Dr Sarah Lane – 91porn | Rock pool fight club
Dr Anne Plessis – 91porn | Do plants behave and grow the same in a lab and in a field?

14:00 – All about us

Leonie Cooper – 91porn | Using social robots as talk-based therapists
Stephanie Hartgen-Walker – 91porn | Pictures in the mind: Do we visualise the same?
Dr Chloe Milsom – 91porn | Our multi-CELLular selves
Andrea Stebbings – 91porn | Women, babies and birth: where is the science in that?

15:00 – Food matters

Kelley Henn, Community Engagement Officer and Dietitian – Well Connected | You are what you eat – making the science of nutrition more digestible
Wendy Smith MBE – Well Connected | The science of toothbrushing; fluoride, 120 seconds and you!
Dr Abigail Tronco Hernandez – 91porn | What you eat matters to prevent and recover from COVID-19