Café Scientifique

Café Scientifique is a place where, for the price of a cup of coffee or a glass of wine, anyone can come to explore the latest ideas in science and technology. Meetings have taken place in cafes, bars, restaurants & even theatres, but always outside a traditional academic context. Café Scientifique is a forum for debating science issues, not a shop window for science. We are committed to promoting public engagement with science and to making science accessible.

Some aspects of science receive a bad press, or inaccurate reporting. Many people have a poor understanding of the nature of science, yet must live in a world where science and technology are increasingly important in their everyday life. Café Scientifique was set up in Europe to let the public get first-hand information from, and interact with, the publicly-funded scientific community and has become extremely popular and successful in Europe, North America and Australia.

If you are approached as a specialist, please consider participating. Our intention is to offer evening sessions every couple of months on a range of science and technology topics at a pub in town. If you´re passionate about a topic, please come along and participate. Each session will kick off with a short general introduction to the chosen topic, and is then thrown open to questions from the floor and general discussion. 

Upcoming Cafes

Hamilton Cafe Scientifiques will not be run regularly in 2012; however, Tauranga Cafe Scientifique's will continue.