Science full of communication. CATRIN opens its laboratories to the public
How can we get materials to ‘speak’? How do plants, or cells in the human body, communicate? Visitors to Researchers´ Night at CATRIN on Friday, September 25 will have the chance to find out. In addition to experiments and guided tours, there will also be knowledge quizzes, science tattoos, a science café and, weather permitting, live music. A new feature this year will be the CATRIN colouring books. The main theme of this year’s event is Communication.
Scientists will be available to visitors from 5.00 pm to 11.00 pm in the CATRIN-MAT building. Through games, quizzes and experiments, they will present CATRIN’s main areas of research as well as some international projects.
“We take part in Researchers’ Night every year. It is a wonderful opportunity for us to open CATRIN to the public and show what our research teams are working on, why their work is important, and how specific results benefit our everyday lives. We greatly appreciate the interest shown by everyone who comes to visit us every year and discovers the world of science,” said CATRIN Director Pavel Banáš.
The topic of communication will run through all the presentations. Researchers will demonstrate, for example, how communication works in the nanoworld and the biosphere, how the invisible communication of electrons can make a material glow or transform water into the fuel of the future, and what role nanomaterial inks play. Visitors will also gain an insight into the world of genetic engineering, learn about the biotechnologies being developed at CATRIN, and discover the methods scientists use to monitor how plants interact with their environment. Younger visitors in particular can look forward to a microscopic memory game, interactive games and brand-new CATRIN colouring books, in which the comic-strip characters Herman the robot and his friend Begonia will guide them through research topics. Detailed information about the programme can be found here.
More than 120 institutions from across the Czech Republic will be taking part in the Researchers’ Night programme, ranging from universities, secondary schools and primary schools to science centres, museums and observatories, as well as institutes of the Czech Academy of Sciences. In the Olomouc Region, Palacký University is, as usual, organising the most extensive programme. Those wishing to visit CATRIN can also use of the free special Researchers’ Night bus service.
