Teddington's famous National Physical Laboratory (NPL) will be opening its doors for a rare insight into its scientific secrets on May 20th to celebrate World Metrology Day.

Curious visitors will have the chance to meet the NPL's scientists, engineers and other experts in their scientific fields who are tackling the biggest challenges from the pandemic, space travel and driverless vehicles.

You can meet the scientists who are using underwater cables to detect earthquakes, working on satellites to look at the changes to our earth from space and using digital imaging to measure changes in structures over time.

 World Metrology Day is an annual celebration of the signature of the Metre Convention on 20 May 1875 by representatives of seventeen nations. The Convention sets the framework for global collaboration in metrology, the science of measurement, and in its industrial, commercial and societal applications.

 This year the theme for the day is Metrology in the Digital Era, chosen because digital technology is revolutionising the way we live and work.  

 From future-proofing time with atomic clocks and testing driverless vehicles to developing the next generation of medical ultrasound and making the most of renewable energy, NPL is aiding the UK's journey in digital innovation. Metrology underpins the development of pioneering digital technologies, enabling research and innovation to flourish in the UK.

Visitors will also have the unusual opportunity to see inside a range of laboratories to see NPL's science and engineering in action. There will be a live simulation of road vehicle sensors used in driverless vehicles, the chance to see inside an MRI scanner and explore the physics behind solar energy and the technologies that will help us to reach net zero.

 Information about the science that will be on display and how to register can be found here.

The NPL employs over 600 scientists and has regional bases across the UK, including at the University of Surrey, the University of Strathclyde, the University of Cambridge and the University of Huddersfield's 3M Buckley Innovation Centre.