See the best of Imperial on exclusive alumni tours and get priority access to Great Exhibition Road Festival talks
How to access tours and talks
We run as many tours as we can, but to ensure the best experience, there are limited places available. Priority booking is given to alumni who pre-registered for an Alumni Lounge pass (the password to book alumni tour tickets has been sent to all pre-registered alumni by email). You need to book tickets for anyone in your party who will be taking the tour, including children. Some of the tours have very strict capacities and guests without a pre-booked spot will be unable to join the tour.
There will be a small number of tour tickets available to alumni wh register on the day, but please note we cannot guarantee that you will be able to secure a place on your preferred tour. On arrival in the Alumni Lounge, please visit the Tours Desk to check availability and reserve your tickets.
Exclusive alumni events and tours:
| Tour | Description | Day and time | Booking link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Preview of the Smart Machine zone | Access an exclusive preview of the Smart Machines zone, showcasing innovation in robotics and AI, an hour before it opens to the public on Saturday. Meet our researchers before it gets busy, and explore the ground-breaking projects on display. | Saturday: 11.00 | Book tickets for the preview |
| Imperial mascots | Visit and learn more about the history and upkeep of our mascots. Get up close with famous Imperial characters Bo, Jezebel and Clem. |
Saturday: 12.00, 13.00, 15.00, 16.00 |
Book tickets for the mascots tour |
| Chemical Kitchen | Discover the Chemical Kitchen, home to an original transdisciplinary practical course that uses the non-threatening parallel of cooking to teach lab skills. | Saturday: 12.30, 13.30 Sunday: 12.30, 13.30 |
Book tickets for the Chemical Kitchen tour |
| Flight simulator | Get hands-on in our full motion, six degree-of-freedom, enclosed flight simulator with the Department of Aeronautics. | Saturday: 14.00, 15.30 Sunday: 12.00, 13.30 |
SOLD OUT |
| Physics | Take a trip down memory lane and visit the lecture theatres and labs of the Blackett Building with the Department of Physics. | Saturday: 13.30, 14.30 Sunday: 13.30, 14.30 |
Book tickets for the Physics department tour |
| Carbon Capture Pilot Plant | Marvel at our futuristic Carbon Capture Pilot Plant, which stretches over four floors and provides a vital resource in the fight against climate change. |
Saturday: 10.00, 11.00, 12.00, 14.30, 15.30, 16.30 |
Book tickets for the Carbon Capture Pilot Plant tour |
| Campus tour | Explore the campus on a walking tour led by a knowledgeable student guide. |
Saturday: 11.45, 12.45, 13.45 Sunday: 12.45, 13.45, 14.45 |
Book tickets for a campus tour |
Great Exhibition Road Festival talks:
| Talk | Description | Day and time | Booking link |
|---|---|---|---|
| The biggest dinosaurs that ever lived | Paul Barrett, science lead on the National History Museum's 'Life as the Biggest Dinosaur - Titanosaur' exhibition, will discuss what it's like digging up the giant remains of these largest of dinosaurs, and tackle some of the big questions science has about these giants. | Saturday, 14.30 | Book alumni and guest tickets via this link |
| Rediscovering Black portraiture | Find out how a moment of lockdown inspiration started artist Peter Brathwaite on a journey rediscovering the history of Black subjects in Western art and literature. | Saturday, 13.00 | Book alumni and guest tickets via this link |
| The wonders inside the Great Exhibition of 1851 | Explore the finest art and industrial design of the day during this guided tour of the first World’s Fair. | Saturday, 16.00 | Book alumni and guest tickets via this link |
| Amazing Molecular Science Show | What are molecules? Where are they, what can they do for us, and how do we even know what they look like? Explore the incredible world of molecules at this live interactive family show. | Saturday: 13.00, 15.00, 16.30 Sunday: 13.00, 15.00, 16.30 |
Book alumni and guest tickets via this link |
| 20,000 leagues under the sea: revealing Earth's final frontier | 90% of Mars and the entire Moon’s surface have been mapped. Yet fewer than 20% of Earth’s oceans have been. Join Britain’s first astronaut Helen Sharman for a panel discussion exploring manned submersibles, autonomous drones, sonar, satellite measurements, and other technologies that will help us go where no human has gone before. | Sunday, 13.00 | Book alumni and guest tickets via this link |
| The brain on drugs | Professor David Nutt, Director of Imperial’s Neuropsychopharmacology Unit, will take you on a 250 year tour of scientific enquiry into the origins of cognitive performance and creativity, and how they could be chemically improved or enhanced. | Sunday, 14.30 | Book alumni and guest tickets via this link |
| The moon and me with Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock | 50 years after the last human left the moon, space scientist and science educator Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock MBE (Physics 1990, PhD 1993) takes us back. | Sunday, 16.00 | Book alumni and guest tickets via this link |
| Am I made of star dust? | Space scientist and BBC broadcaster Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock MBE (Physics 1990, PhD 1993) answers all the questions kids have about the universe. | Sunday, 13.00 | Book alumni and guest tickets via this link (more tickets to be released soon) |
Can we help?
If you have any questions or would like more information about Alumni Weekend, contact us using the details below and we will be happy to help.
Contact the Alumni Relations team:
+44 (0)20 7594 6138
alumnievents@imperial.ac.uk