European Science Week

European Science Week
8 > 14 November 2004
E U R O P E A N
SCIENCE WEEK
http://www.cordis.lu/scienceweek/
Raising awareness of science
Science Week Europe is back again to show rather than tell young
Europeans – and the young at heart – how science and technology
can have a very real and rewarding effect on their daily lives.
As a focal point for national science week initiatives, and with more
activities in the enlarged European Union than ever, this annual
festival is hoping to get the message across that science is more
than laboratories and Bunsen burners: it can also be full of fun.
Through European Science Week and other Science and Society
initiatives, the European Commission is determined to forge closer
ties between the world of science and the lives of European citizens.
VT-2004 – Venus Transit Observation
As Venus catches up with the Earth, observers will be treated to one of the rarest
events in our solar system, a Venus transit. Preparations are underway across Europe
to witness and study this astronomical curiosity on 8 June.
For almost six hours on that day, it will be visible from Europe, Africa and much of
Asia, and European astronomers hope to turn Venus’ transit – a small black spot
moving slowly across the face of the sun – into a collective lesson in physics, mathematics and history. VT-2004 has been selected as a European Science Week activity
because it helps raise awareness of science, especially in youngsters.
Data about the transit will be submitted by 300 observers worldwide to the VT-2004
Centre via the corresponding website. But this event is not just for professional scientists: amateur stargazers and hundreds of thousands of schoolchildren will also
have their faces pointed skywards to witness this astronomical rarity.
Partner countries: Europe-wide
Coordinator: Claus Madsen, European Southern Observatory, HQ in Garching (DE)
E-mail: [email protected]
Web: http://www.vt-2004.org/participate/
Activities: professional Venus monitoring, amateur astronomy campaign, interactive website, web streaming, press coverage, school programmes
SUPERLIFE: Superconductivity in Everyday Life
Theoretical physics can often be confusing for the public. Through hands-on demonstrations, SUPERLIFE aims to help citizens grasp how research on high-temperature
superconductivity (HTS) devices affects their lives in very real ways.
HTS applications include magnetic levitation and transport, energy storage devices, and
electrical energy supply. These pave the way for competitively priced industrial products,
electronic gadgets and protective processes which sustain Europe’s high living standards.
Students and the general public will learn about superconducting via displays and
simple demonstrations showing HTS in action, as well as special workshops for different target groups – i.e. high schools, industry, SMEs. Coordinated national activities will take place in Germany, France, Spain and the UK throughout the year, with
the main event in Hungary during European Science Week.
Partner countries: France, Germany, Hungary, Spain, Sweden, UK
Coordinator: Istvan Vajda, Budapest University of Technology and Economy
E-mail: [email protected]
Web: http://www.supertech.bme.hu/index.htm
Activities: national and European expos and demonstrations of superconductivity in schools, industry, SMEs, and more
EUROBOT – European Robotics Competition
Now in its seventh year, this science and technology (S&T) project is an entertaining
annual competition pitting students from universities, engineering schools and science clubs against the best robot builders in Europe.
Up to 20 countries and 3 000 youngsters will compete during the year, giving them
the chance to share their knowledge, while raising awareness of European S&T
through TV broadcasts and other press coverage. This year’s robot design challenge
is to create fully autonomous machines that ‘play rugby on a tropical island’.
Interaction is encouraged between competitors on the net, during the eight qualifying
rounds and, of course, during the four-day final meeting which takes place between 20
and 23 May in La Ferté-Bernard (FR). EUROBOT’s award ceremony will be held in
Brussels (BE) – in November – to coincide with the European Science Week.
Partner countries: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany,
Serbia and Montenegro, Spain, Switzerland
Coordinator: Veronique Raoul, VM Group, Paris (FR)
E-mail: [email protected]
Web: http://www.robotik.com
Activities: robot making, robot course challenge, national competitions, TV and
video presentations, and promoting fair play and information sharing between
contestants
Want to take part in Science Week?
We are especially interested in:
• Ideas that share our aim of demystifying science and technology
for the general public
• Projects that are in tune with the way young people interpret science
• Projects that provide high quality information, but can also be fun
What’s in store this year?
Debates, lectures, fairs, training centres, exhibitions, presentations, celestial observations, science visits, fun on the web, conferences, natural disaster simulations,
physics demonstrations, robotics competitions, science networks, insights into the
‘intelligent’ school of tomorrow...
These are just some of the things on offer during European Science Week 2004. But
the most important ingredient to make it a success is your participation. Read this
leaflet to see if there is an event near you or an on-line activity showing how to
have fun with science.
Further information on European Science Week can be found at:
http://www.cordis.lu/scienceweek/
or contact the European Commission’s Research Directorate-General at:
[email protected]
SCIENCE AND SOCIETY
Scientific SHIELD Against Natural Hazards and Disasters
Europeans living along flood-prone rivers or seismic faults might not realise it but
their lives can depend on science and technology (S&T) preventing, mitigating or, at
least, forecasting a pending natural disaster.
This project is an educational journey exploring today’s scientific achievements,
future challenges and mitigation techniques in the field of natural hazards and disasters. Aimed mostly at high school students, it will show vividly and interactively the
struggle between S&T and natural phenomena.
SHIELD will create miniature simulators, video presentations, and demonstrations of
different natural disasters – i.e. seismic, volcanic, landslides, avalanches, floods,
storms, wildfires. Young scientists will interact with high school students in the exhibition venues during European Science Week. At least 8 000 pupils from four
European countries are expected to participate in the project's main activities.
Partner countries: Greece, Poland, Estonia, Turkey
Coordinator: Menelaos Sotiriou, Q-Plan SA, Athens (EL)
E-mail: [email protected]
Web: http://www.shieldproject.org
Activities: micro-scale simulators, video presentations, exhibitions and interactive demonstrations on natural disasters
SCHOOL-FORESIGHT – A Vision for the School of 2020
What will the ‘intelligent school of tomorrow’ look like? Using state-of-the-art techniques, this project seeks to answer this probing question. It will examine new
learning techniques and how the wider use of information and communications technologies (ICT) affects teaching methods and tools, especially in the scientific domain.
The findings will expand educational horizons, in particular by looking at the
contribution of science and technology – ICT and eco-efficient methods – in school
buildings and physical learning environments (the technological domain), as well as
the broader implications of the European Research Area.
SCHOOL-FORESIGHT’s essay contest, called ‘A vision for the school of 2020’, will
encourage some 10 000 students in five countries to imagine how future schools
might look. Photos, videos, debates, workshops and a virtual 'classroom of tomorrow',
including a synchronised lesson – on science and technology's impact on school education – will be held in different venues during European Science Week.
Partner countries: Greece, Sweden, Romania, Bulgaria, Estonia, Czech Republic
Coordinator: Menelaos Sotiriou, Q-Plan SA, Athens (EL)
E-mail: [email protected]
Web: http://www.school-foresight.org
Activities: investigation, photo and video exhibitions, debates, workshops,
virtual classroom aimed at creating a vision of the school of tomorrow
WESPA – Web Portal for Energy and Semiconductor Public Awareness
Unleashing the potential of the Internet to bring difficult scientific subjects to life,
WESPA will provide a deeper understanding of energy, semiconductor physics and microelectronics – subjects of great political, economic and social importance to Europeans.
But how exactly do they affect modern society? A web portal will be developed, as part
of European Science Week, to answer questions like this. It will be a virtual space where
visitors can find background information – provided by a network of European experts –
about scientific and technological issues.
Through its tailored webzine, Di Nuova Energia, the project will present news and views
on renewable energy worldwide. WESPA’s ties with the Danish Wind Industry Association
– and links to its website www.windpower.org – also gives ‘amateur engineers’ the
chance to experiment with wind energy.
Partner countries: France, Germany, Italy, Spain, UK
Coordinator: Marco Bianucci, Instituto Nazionale di Fisica della Materia (INFM),
Parma (IT)
E-mail: [email protected]
Web: http://informando.infm.it
Activities: web portal, on-line magazine, exhibition, expert network, and
ties with renewable energy associations, shine the light on energy and
semiconductors.
ESCIENTIAL – Italy’s First European Science Festival
With the success of last year’s event, the Genoa Science Festival has decided to
broaden its horizons. Taking place from 28 October to 8 November this year, the festival now coincides with two important European programmes: European Science
Week and ‘Genoa 2004’ (European City of Culture).
Activities will include exhibits and contributions from European science centres,
museums and institutions, and the setting up of a science communications training
centre for experts to share information.
To improve public scientific awareness, a European network, comprising science centres and museums, will organise lab work and workshops where young visitors, families, classes and teachers will learn about scientific topics. In addition, a European
press office will be set up to disseminate the results of the ESCIENTIAL project.
Partner countries: France, Italy, Slovenia, Spain, UK
Coordinator: Manuela Arata, Festival della Scienza Association
INFM, Genoa (IT)
E-mail: [email protected]
Web: http://www.festivalscienza.it
Activities: collaborative science networks, exhibitions, science training and
dissemination, workshops and labs promoting Italian and European science.
FW-SCIENCE 2004 – Fascinating World of Science
Delve deeper into science and its fascinating world will unfold before your eyes,
contend the organisers of this European Science Week project. It takes Europeans
on a scientific journey where they will learn that chemistry, physics, mathematics,
geology and biology are more than school disciplines… they constitute life itself.
Targeting, in particular, Portuguese and Galician high school students, the project
offers hands-on experiments, lab work, field activities, permanent exhibitions, lectures and debates. Through face-to-face interaction between researchers, teachers
and students, the ‘fascination factor’ will come to life. A website will also provide a
videoconference facility, as well as discussion forums on different scientific subjects.
Not convinced? Speak to the organisers at the Universidade do Minho’s School of
Science and them point you to the ‘fascinating world’ of science out there.
Activities: bringing science to life through visits, lab work, expos, lectures and
debates both on- and off-line
KI-60-04-111-EN-D
Partner countries: Portugal
Coordinator: Manuel Mota and Luisa Bras,
Universidade do Minho, Braga (PT)
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: http://www.gap.uminho.pt