The British Science Festival will be in Surrey from 5-10 September, bringing over 350 of the UK’s top scientists and engineers to discuss the latest developments in science with the public. After the Roman Empire, there was an extraordinary blossoming of scientific activity radiating from Baghdad (Iraq) and along a glittering crescent through North Africa, Spain and into Southern Italy for about a thousand years after 600 CE. The festival will be launching ‘Standing on the shoulders of giants; Celebrating Muslim heritage in our world' which will showcase some of the fascinating innovations of this period and explore their relevance in today's world.

One of the most important and famous revolutions in the history of science was Copernicus' confirmation of the heliocentric model of our solar system. Join Jim Al-Khalili in ‘Copernicus and the astronomy of medieval Islam’ to find out how Copernicus would not have achieved what he did without knowledge of the work of much earlier Islamic scholars as is evident in his writing and diagrams.

Other highlights of the festival include:

- In ‘The social cure: why group life is central to our health and well-being’ discover why belonging to social groups and networks is a key predictor of health, just as social isolation is a killer. Indeed, recent research suggests that social groups contribute as much to our health as diet and exercise.

- the science of human attraction, find out the magic of computer science, learn why peoples' sleep deteriorates with age and see where creativity comes from.

- Supported by the British Council, the Festival is working in partnership with the Darwin Now project to mark 200 years since the birth of Charles Darwin and celebrate his legacy by exploring his scientific ideas and the remarkable impacts they made.

- 2009 is also the International Year of Astronomy. You can find out the difference between a star and the planet, take a trip to Mars and take a guided tour through the entire universe.

The British Science Festival is one of Europe’s largest science festivals and regularly attracts over 50,000 visitors regularly attend the talks, discussions and workshops. For further information, visit www.britishscienceassociation.org/festival.