Rocket launch, knightly tournament and lectures from scientists: what was presented at the science festival in Minsk

Ten main locations were organized at the Science Festival in the Central Botanical Garden of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus on September 5. What surprised on the first day — in the material of the correspondent of the agency “Minsk-Novosti”.

- We have been holding the Science Festival since 2018 thanks to the initiative of young scientists and the comprehensive support of the National Academy of Sciences. Our goal is to immerse people of all ages in science through interactive formats. This year the festival is held for the first time for two days, besides the evening program is waiting for guests. Viewers will be able to enjoy a play about quantum entanglement. There will be a musical group that uses the Tesla coil as an instrument. And visitors are waiting for a scientific show, at the end of the whole program, the sky will light up with fireworks, said Anna Bareyko, researcher at the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus. Every year, each participant tries to present a unique program. This year we made the entrance to the festival free. We hope this is a good experience that will attract as many people as possible. In the future, we want to hold this event not only in Minsk, but also in other cities of Belarus.

The number of participants of the festival reached almost 2 thousand people. Everyone will be able to start talking to science if they visit 10 main thematic platforms, which include intellectual technologies, medicine, space, ecology, the university of the future, science for children, etc.

Chairman of the NASB Presidium Vladimir Karanik gave a welcoming speech:

- I am glad to welcome everyone to a scientific and spectacular event, where you can not only see the experiments, but also participate in them. Scientific advances are changing the face of civilization, allowing you to reach for the stars or explore the world of the atom. Over a century, thanks to the success of scientists and inventors, our world has changed a lot, but if we look into the future, we realize that many questions remain unanswered, and projects have not yet been implemented. But do not forget that the development of science is possible only because of human potential. I am delighted that this festival brings together both people from the scientific field and those who come from completely different fields, but are very interested in exploring the world. Who knows, maybe there are future doctors of science, professors, Nobel laureates. I want everyone at the festival to see that science can be quite entertaining.

The invited guests were the Russian inventor, the presenter and author of the rubric “Crazy Hands”, which was shown in the program “While all the houses” from 1992 to 2010, Andrey Bakhmetyev and test cosmonaut from Russia Oleg Artemyev.

Work related to science is always the most interesting. This is the best investment in the future of our countries and new generations. I hope that this festival will attract even more astronauts, they will come here and plant trees on the memorial alley, and our cooperation will continue for many years to come. Guests of the festival are advised to visit as many locations as possible, find friends with whom in the future it will be possible to develop in the field of science and astronautics, Artemyev said.

At the central site, quests, playgrounds were organized, and experiments with liquid nitrogen were conducted.

The space location was presented by employees of the Association of the Moscow Air Engineering School.

- Our stand was originally presented at the Science Festival in Moscow. When this event became international, we started to visit our closest neighbors. This is the second time in Minsk. We represent an association that educates children and students in space and engineering sciences. Our main activity includes holding a large all-Russian international championship, where schoolchildren and students compete in the creation of small satellites, rockets and drones. Visitors to our location can collect small cardboard rockets that will fly on small solid-fuel rocket engines, said Ivan Zaitsev, senior specialist of the Association of the Air Engineering School.

To participate in such a large-scale event, you need to go to the festival website and leave an application, where you should write in detail about your organization, project, offer innovations for the development of Minsk and Belarus as a whole.

- We have been participating in the Science Festival for the fourth year. We present a platform dedicated to the program “Teacher for Belarus”. This time we have a collaboration of science and finance. Teachers of physics, chemistry and biology will conduct entertaining experiments that will appeal to both children and adults. Everyone will be able to participate in master classes, draw a coin of the future and learn the basics of financial literacy in a game form, as well as listen to and observe the work of the acoustic laboratory, Karina Dobzhinetskaya, coordinator of communication with partner schools of the Teacher for Belarus program, shared.

There were those who participated in the festival for the first time.

- This is our debut at the Science Festival. We’ve watched it in the past few years and we’ve been very inspired. This time we decided to present our fijital project called InnoAvatar, which blurs the boundary between reality and the digital world. A robot can draw a sketch portrait of a person from his photo in 40 seconds. Tomorrow we will bring a selfie-mirror, with which everyone will be able to capture themselves, process and see how virtual reality sees them, said Zhanna Komarova, editor-in-chief of the journal Science and Innovations of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus.

At the location of the University of the Future, students of the biotechnological faculty of Polesie State University offered to collect human organs; correlate leaves and fruits with the trees on which they grow; collect a human cell, study insects under glass and take a quiz. Next to the young people, there was a platform where they talked in detail about the Sustainable Development Goals.

- Our booth includes a small poster with a QR code that provides access to an interactive lecture. All interested people will be able to get acquainted with the history of the emergence of the Sustainable Development Goals, learn what preceded them, and read about the period when the international community understood that it is precisely necessary to work on this, said Vsevolod Kosenchuk, youth ambassador of the Sustainable Development Goals. I participate in the science festival for the first time. I have already met many of my friends here. It is very nice to see large locations on a variety of topics. They are aimed at different age groups. So, the platform “Science 0+” is focused on all ages. There are areas where you can communicate with scientists and professionals in their fields.

The festival of science came from all over Belarus. Such visitors were students of secondary school No. 1 in Logoisk.

- We came here with the class. I liked the location where I had to go through quests and collect rockets. And my friend Misha — to control the rover, — said the schoolboy Yaroslav Katrenko.

Club "Wayne" presented a real knight camp. Here everyone could try on a helmet, armor, chain chain mittens... And then fight with soft swords.

Nearby there was a platform where you could communicate with the herbalist and learn about the medicines of the Middle Ages, as well as the birth of modern medicine.

- I went to the science festival for the second time. Last year I really liked the site where everyone could try themselves in the role of a welder, put on a protective suit and work with a welding machine. 3D printers were also introduced. As a specialist in the production of products using three-dimensional technology, I was interested in this. This year I really want to visit the space location and watch chemical experiments, as well as participate in master classes in art, said Anna Sivaeva, a visitor to the area.

Photo by Alexander Morunov