It is already the second time that the largest Silesian higher education institutions, led by University of Silesia, and the City of Katowice, join forces to show the whole community of the Silesia and Zagłębie region that science can be fun and to prove that the daily work of researchers from different fields can be presented in an accessible way, understandable for everyone.
The Silesian Science Festival KATOWICE 2017 will last for three days: from Thursday 30 November to Saturday 2 December. This is the first and major change compared with last year’s edition, when the Festival was held only for two days. The International Congress Centre will again be the main venue for Festival events – all visitors are invited to the Centre on 1 and 2 December. The prologue of the Festival entitled “Science on Stage” will be staged at the Stanisław Wyspiański Silesian Theatre on 30 November.
The programme of the first day of the Festival is divided into three parts. In the first part youth scientific theatres from across Poland will perform at the Silesian Theatre. The second part, called “Thinking on stage”, will be a scientific debate during which its moderator Prof. Tadeusz Sławek will ask whether science can save us and the following professors will try to answer this question: Ewa Bartnik (geneticist), Krzysztof Antoni Meissner (theoretical physicist) and Bogdan Dembiński (philosopher). The third part will feature a spectacle entitled “Obertaniec-oberwaniec”, performed by the “Katowice” Student Song and Dance Ensemble. “Obertaniec-oberwaniec” is an innovative music and dance project in which traditional folk dance gains a modern form.
The second and third day of the Silesian Science Festival KATOWICE 2017 will include a large number of events which will take place at the International Congress Centre. Apart from the main stage, the festival space will be dedicated to 6 fields of science: humanities and social sciences, natural sciences, exact sciences, technical sciences, medical sciences and arts. These fields will occupy over 200 stands which will be the venue of innumerable performances, workshops and experiments aimed at the promotion of science. The Festival will also feature over 100 lectures.
The festival space will be complemented with a great number of additional initiatives, many of which are a novelty and will make their debut at the Silesian Science Festival.
One of them is the Off Science zone. The organisers dedicate it to all amateur inventors and constructors working on unusual ideas in basements, garages and workshops, who rarely have a chance to present the effects of their work to a wider audience. The inventions and technical solutions presented in the zone will take part in the Overview of Garage Inventions – a poll in which visitors to the International Congress Centre will select the most inspiring idea.
Science Station is an even more courageous attempt made by scientists to reach “ordinary people”. Participants in the Silesian Science Festival KATOWICE 2017 will have the opportunity to speak with the invited representatives of the world of science and other interesting guests at special stations created in the festival space. Each station will have boards with ”timetables” with a detailed programme, that is information on the host, time and topic of discussion.
For a few years Katowice has been the world capital of e-sport, which will also be part of the second edition of the Festival. The E-sport Point will become the venue of the EduEsportCup with the participation of pupils and students, and it will also be possible to challenge professional players in a tournament mode. All visitors to this zone will come across not only state-of-the-art game equipment but also cult devices of the past – Commodore, Amiga or gaming machines.
The Silesian Science Festival KATOWICE 2017 will also witness an attempt to break the record for the largest number of people playing… the petafon. Petafon, an instrument invented by physicists of University of Silesia, consists of several plastic bottles filled with air at appropriate pressure – when hit, for example with a stick, it makes specific sounds.
The organisers of the Silesian Science Festival KATOWICE 2017 spared no effort to make the programme as varied as possible and ensure that academic and popular science elements are interwoven with initiatives of a slightly different character.
The organisers of the Silesian Science Festival KATOWICE 2017 are: University of Silesia in Katowice, Silesian University of Technology, Medical University of Silesia, Academy of Fine Arts in Katowice and the City of Katowice.