Students lead the march in Science in The City

Young scientists from across Malta are charging up the upcoming Science in the City Festival with their energies through a slew of events to bring science to everyone. 

Medical students and the Teddy Bear hospital at last year’s Science in the City.
Medical students and the Teddy Bear hospital at last year’s Science in the City.

A number of university student organisations will be setting up stands along Republic Street with experiments, health checks and huggable dentists.

Medical students will run free health checks for adults and the elderly, including testing blood pressure, blood glucose levels and BMI, while a Teddy Bear hospital is being set up for children. The organisation will additionally conduct a blood pressure experiment featuring a before-and-after reading following exercise by a MMSA student, as well as a Beat the Burn experiment to demonstrate the harmful effects of UV rays on skin.

Dental students will be using activities, experiments, games and advice on taking care of your oral health. They’ll also have tooth fairies and the lovely Molly the Molar. Health students will be testing blood glucose levels, blood pressure, BMI, food screening, and posture and cancer advice.

Computer science students will be showcasing a History of Computing exhibition with Vintage Computer Club Malta at La Vallette Band Club, and will also feature Spheros – the electric balls. They are also running a QR Treasure Hunt with several educational fun facts distributed across the Republic Street.

Techsercise, the winners of this year's Imagine Cup; a programming competition hosted by Microsoft Malta, will be showcasing their app which consists of collecting points by doing exercises and exchanging those points for various gifts.  

S-Cubed will be carrying out a number of science experiments, that the public can do themselves, throughout the night. Around 50 S-Cubed volunteers will be on hand to show people how to do these experiments.

Young scientists at IEEE stand will be exhibiting robots, flying robots and electrical components and the public is invited to find out the physics behind these mechanics. UESA are bringing a catapult to their stand and simple Arduino boards to create LED Cubes.

Over at the City Gate an MCAST IAS exhibit will explore the similarities and intersections between art, entertainment, and science. Filled with high-energy and fast-paced experiments, laughter, fun and audience involvement, the exhibit is guaranteed to entertain and educate the whole family.

Meanwhile, NSTF will showcase some of the projects of the students who participated in the NSTF School Contest of Young Scientists that were exhibited in this years' edition of the NSTF Science Expo 2014, held in April at MCAST. The participating students will showcase their projects and inform passersby of their research or experiment conducted and the results obtained.

Associated with NSTF, the Malta Student Science Forum (MSSF) members will present debates at the Law Courts followed by opening of the floor to question and answer. NSTF is also inviting past winners of the national FameLab competition who tested their mettle in the FameLab International final. FameLab is an international scientific talks competition that aims to nurture the communication of science.

The Science in the City festival—European Researchers’ Night is supported by the EU’s Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action of the Horizon 2020 (H2020) Programme. The event is organised by the University of Malta, Malta Chamber of Scientists and the Research Trust of the University of Malta (RIDT), in partnership with Karl Borg Events, Studio 7, Valletta 2018 Foundation, MEUSAC, Valletta Local Council, Malta Council for Science and Technology, Malta College for Arts, Science and Technology, Arts Council Malta, PBS, Notte Bianca, St James Cavalier, Lufthansa Technik Malta, General Soft Drinks with Coca Cola, Ta' Mena wines, Italian Cultural Institute and British Council.

The full programme and venue details can be downloaded from www.scienceinthecity.org.mt