There will be no sleeping during the Researchers´ Night at CATRIN, scientists will reveal often unexpected wealth
The colorful richness of nanoparticles, the hidden secrets of plants and the diverse and colorful world of insects will be presented to the public by scientists from CATRIN, Palacký University at the largest domestic event for the popularization of science – the Researchers´ Night, which will take place on Friday, September 26. In addition to a number of experiments, visitors will be able to take excursions to selected workplaces, view a comic book exhibition and a visit science café.
From 5:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m., experts in materials and plant research will welcome visitors, young and old. They will take visitors to selected laboratories, show them what can be seen using top-notch microscopes, and children in particular will be able to try out what scientist’s work entails. The presentation is in line with this year’s main theme, which is wealth.
“When you hear the word wealth, most people think of gold, money, or diamonds. In our lab, we are looking for a different kind of wealth—one that can power cars, trains, and maybe even entire cities. We don’t want wealth that can be locked away in a vault, but one that we can give to everyone—clean energy. We are looking for ways to harness this invisible wealth—by breaking down ammonia, producing hydrogen, using nanomaterials that are smaller than a virus. Sometimes we use the rarest metals, like gold or platinum. But we can harness them in a way that makes every single atom work. In the professional world, this is called “atomic catalysis.” We take this as proof that even on the smallest scale the greatest wealth is hidden,” invites scientist Hana Kmentová to one of the activities.
However, as scientists know, wealth can also be hidden in ordinary table salt, carbon materials, the plant kingdom or the insect world, and great wealth is represented by the new technologies they are developing. All this will be explained to visitors at the Researchers´ Night. The detailed program is available here.
An exhibition of a scientific comic will also be prepared. “Our comic book friends Begonie and Herman – a robot, regularly go on scientific adventures, and scientists from CATRIN are their guides. You can find out what experiences they have had and what answers to their inquisitive questions they received from our researchers. The heroes of the stories, brilliantly portrayed by our colleague Patrick Trouillas, are also real scientists from CATRIN. Come and meet some of them in person,” invites one of the event organizers, Romana Kotulková.
A new feature will be a science café and in case of good weather also live music. You can also get to the campus on Šlechtitelů Street by a special bus line; the timetable is available here.
This year falls on the 20th anniversary of the Researchers´ Night in the Czech Republic. The main theme, wealth, refers to the 700th anniversary of the start of minting the first Czech gold coins – florins – during the reign of John of Luxembourg.
