The afternoon of interactive demos, lab tours and talks takes place between 1pm and 5pm.

Racing rockets, a close look at microscopic marvels and a chance to see how engineers are changing the world are just some of the activities on offer at the first ever Laser Fest.

The photonic-themed fun takes place at the IfM and forms part of the annual Cambridge Science Festival.

2010 marks the 50th anniversary of the invention of the Laser (Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation) and a host of activities have been designed to highlight the power of state-of-the-art lasers.

Visitors will see how high power lasers are used for micromachining with writing so small, the naked eye can’t see it. There’ll also be a chance to see a laser Leonardo da Vinci by using the hi-tech light to make three dimensional works of art.

Also on offer will be the chance to have your photograph zapped onto steel, see our mini-death ray drill through concrete blocks and slice through steel and race rockets using mini-ray guns.

But the event won’t just be confined to blasting lasers. Dr Tim Minshall will be describing how engineers change the world in his talk Making the impossible possible. He’ll be looking at the role of engineering in creating humanity's greatest innovations, from putting a man on the moon to growing new body parts.

Also on display will be images of events normally too fast for the human eye to see - familiar to anyone who watched the new BBC show Invisible Worlds starring Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond.

The afternoon of interactive demos, lab tours and talks takes place between 1pm and 5pm and full details can be found here.

Download the full press release

Photos of the event