Where Did the Universe Come From?

Stephen Hawking and Neil Turok introduce us to Einstein’s idea of a static universe. The volunteers arrive at a drag strip with an electric car ready to go. They must use the sound of the siren, a microphone and laptop to determine the speed and direction of the car. How fast will the car go and what can it tell them about our universe?

The volunteers must organize a special race mimicking the movement of galaxies in space. They must arrange the "galaxies" in order to start the race, but they don’t all start form the same point. They are surprised to see that some of the galaxies walk and some run very fast. This demonstrates that the galaxies furthest away from Earth are also the ones traveling the fastest.

The volunteers take to the ice to find a way to use the balloons and leaf blowers to re-create how the galaxies are moving. They recruit the help of a team of hokey players and discover that the players further away from the centre are moving away faster. What does this tell them about the expansion of the universe?

Join Stephen Hawking as he challenges three ordinary people to work out where the universe came from. Hawking leads the trio on an extraordinary journey of discovery featuring racing cars, ice-skaters, balloons and running tracks. #HawkingGeniusPBS