Borne in the wagon of a travelling show: the BMS Roadshow rides on

Abstract

The British Mycological Society (BMS) has created a Roadshow exhibition of over 20 square metres of mobile display boards, educational models, posters, booklets, leaflets, and a staff of enthusiastic volunteers that travels around the UK. The aim is to make the general public aware of the science of fungal biology in food, pharmaceuticals, environment – and every-day life. In the past four years or so, we've contributed events to National Science Week, several Excellence in Cities programmes, and Science Fairs and Festivals. The backbone of the Roadshow calendar, though, is the Royal Horticultural Society's Flower Show programme. The BMS has contributed displays to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show for several years. Now the BMS Roadshow goes to RHS shows around the country, appearing at the Tatton Park Flower Show in July, the Malvern Spring Gardening Show in May, and Malvern Autumn Garden and Country Show towards the end of September. Our displays always attract enormous public interest. In July 2004 (the first time it was submitted for judging) the BMS Roadshow was awarded a Silver-Gilt Lindley Medal at the RHS Tatton Park Flower Show, and success has continued with a Gold Medal at the Malvern Autumn Garden and Country Show in 2004, a Silver-Gilt at the Malvern Spring Gardening Show 2005, Gold at both Tatton Park 2005 and the Malvern Autumn Show 2005, and Silver at the Chelsea Flower Show 2006. The total “through the turnstile” audience of all these shows totals something like one million people and even if only a small fraction of that total stops at our display, then we are communicating awareness of fungal biology to a crowd that would fill a Premiership football stadium! That's an audience that few others can claim.