Credit: PlusONE / Shutterstock.com

Imperial cosmologist talks time travel at the Albert Hall as Discover South Kensington kicks off with summer events around Exhibition Road

Back to the Future

Imperial teamed up with the Royal Albert Hall on Saturday to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the 1980s film classic Back to the Future.

 The film follows Marty McFly (Michael J Fox), a typical American teenager of the 1980s, who is accidentally sent back to 1955 in a plutonium-powered DeLorean 'time machine', invented by Dr Emmett Brown (Christopher Lloyd). 

On a scorching hot Saturday afternoon, between the matinee and evening screenings of the film with live orchestral accompaniment, Cosmologist Professor Alan Heavens addressed a sold-out audience of enthusiasts on the subject of time travel.

He talked about the practicalities of time travelling in a DeLorean, the paradox of affecting your present self by changing something in your past, and revealed which living human holds the record for the longest time travelled into the future.

Simon Levey caught up with him to find out a bit more about time travel, and asks who would he most like to meet from history?

Is time travel possible?

space

12 things to do in the sunshine

The recently launched Discover South Kensington website reveals what's on in the area, with recommendations from locals, fun things to do with the kids and after dark activities for grown up audiences.

Discover our hottest 12 things to do in the area this summer:

1. THE MODERN SCULPTURE TOUR

London Art Trail: What's in your DNA?
29 June - 6 September
#DNAtrail
Free

See unique DNA inspired double helix sculptures at South Kensington tube station and Royal Albert Hall, then head over to Christies and bid to buy one as part of Cancer Research UK’s campaign to raise awareness and funds for the Francis Crick Institute, a world-leading centre of biomedical research and innovation due to open in 2016. Sculptures by Orla Kiely, Ian Callum, Thierry Noir and Guy Portelli can be seen around the area, with other iconic London locations on the trail hosting sculptures by Ted Baker, Ai WeiWei and Zaha Hadid.

2. VISIT THE MARKETPLACE OF THE FUTURE

The Imperial Show
Tuesday 7 July - Friday 10 July
09.00 - 17.00
Free

Discover 40 incredible new inventions that are set to revolutionise the way we live. Play with working prototypes and meet their inventors, master's students in the Innovation Design Engineering (IDE) and Global Innovation Design (GID) courses, run jointly by the Dyson School of Design Engineering at Imperial, and the Royal College of Art. See Dopa – the world’s first therapeutic vibrating pen that helps people with Parkinson’s write more easily, Happaratuss - a 'power glove' which allows users to sculpt hard materials such as wood or concrete as if it were soft like clay, and Flock – an urban flight planner for drones to minimise the disruption that they cause citizens.

3. SHELTER FROM THE SUN

The Serpentine Pavillion 2015
Tuesday - Sunday, 25 June - 18 October
10.00 - 18.00
Free

Visit the playful and bold temporary summer pavilion at the Serpentine Gallery in Kensington Gardens. Step inside the colourful chrysalis structure, walk along a secret corridor between its outer and inner layers and emerge into a brilliant, stained glass-effect interior created by Madrid based architects SelgasCano.

4. TOUR A GRAND BUILDING

Royal Albert Hall Grand Tours
Various dates and times during the summer

Explore the Royal Albert Hall and its history with these one-hour guided tours running throughout the summer.

Exhibition Road staff and students receive 50% discount, show your ID when booking at the box office to buy tickets for £6 (normally £12) per person.

5. CONSUME SOME CULTURE

Christie's Lates
Tuesday 7 July and Tuesday 4 August
18.00 – 20.30
Free

Christie’s auction house is celebrating its 40^th anniversary by staying open late on the first Tuesday of every month. Drop in for a post-work drink, talk to experts about art and interior design and see inside the UK’s busiest salesroom.

6. DISCOVER YOUR CALLING AS A MUSICIAN

RCM Museum of Music
Tuesday – Friday throughout summer
11.30 – 16.30
Free 

Explore the history of music and musical instruments at the Royal College of Music’s museum. New this summer is the Children’s Corner, a dedicated area with activities, instruments and special exhibitions for children and families.

Competition finalist: Honey gatherer (Andrew Newey/tpoty.com)

7. TRAVEL LIGHT

Travel photographer of the year exhibition
24 July – 5 September
10.00 – 17.00
Free

Can’t take a holiday this summer? There’s no need to miss out – simply pop into the Royal Geographical Society to see the globe through award winning photography.

Credit: Kiev.Victor / Shutterstock.com

8. THROW A GARDEN PARTY

Imagination Station

Monday – Friday, 3 - 31 August
10.00 – 17.00
Free

Explore the Victoria and Albert Museum's new summer garden installation by Mexican architect Frida Escobedo, then let your imagination (and your children!) run wild with activities and ideas from the Imagination Station.

9. TAKE IN A CONCERT

Bruce Brubaker plays Philip Glass
Saturday 25 July
19.30
Free

American pianist Bruce Brubaker performs his new full-length take on Philip Glass’s work Glass Piano, at his only UK tour date, at the Institut Francais.

10. EAT LUNCH AL FRESCO

South Kensington Farmer's Market

Tuesdays
10.00 – 14.00
Free

Imperial’s Queen’s Lawn plays host to a weekly London Farmer’s Market, which stays open over the summer period with barbeques, fresh fruit, cakes and ice-creams.

11. EMBRACE THE INSECTS

Bugs! Day
Friday 10 July
14.00 – 18.00
Free

This tip is if you are looking for an afternoon on the leafy outskirts of London with the family. Hunt for insects, build a bug hotel and see what’s lurking under the water with pond dipping experts as part of a one-day creepy-crawly celebration at Imperial's Silwood Park Campus in Berkshire.

12. GO TO A FESTIVAL

Silfest
Saturday 25 July
12.00 - late
Tickets £15, Camping £5

Everyone is welcome to this hedonistic day of live music, DJs, food and drinks, which rounds off the year for Silwood Park Campus. Enjoy the nature-lovers' line-up of Blue Eyed Sky, Flock of Pigeons, Cows of Our Planet, at this annual open air festival, which this year is raising money for the Bumblebee Conservation Trust.