Electronic voting for young people, fingerprints and blood, crabs and starfish, the relationship between bumblebees and flowers under a microscope, a highland game and the "Health Journey", Japanese language and culture, and the ever-popular Teddy Bear Hospital are just some of the things that staff and students from the University of Iceland will be offering visitors at this year's Researchers' Night. This major science festival will take place at Laugardalshöll on Saturday, 27 September, between 12 and 17. This year marks 20 years since Researchers' Night was first held in Iceland.
Researchers' Night is an excellent opportunity for the public to get to know the work of scientists in diverse fields. Visitors can even put themselves in their shoes by trying out various research tools and equipment, looking at research project results, and talking to the scientists themselves. Researchers' Night is held annually in major European cities and is for anyone, of any generation, interested in science.
Scientists from universities, institutions, and companies all take part in Researchers' Night. Just like in previous years, the University of Iceland will have extensive presentations of its work at almost 40 different stations, covering all five of the University's schools.
In addition to the presentations, visitors can try CPR and chest compressions in the University's area, practice stitching up wounds with the help of medical students, test their vision with fun experiments, and create medicine with the assistance of the university's pharmacy students. There will also be a speed-measurement test, and guests can try to solve over 1,000 maths problems in the "Maths Game".
Visitors can also learn about the future of glaciers in Iceland, how earthquakes are formed, and the lives of ants and bumblebees. They can also compete against artificial intelligence to identify different types of landscapes. Engineering students from the University of Iceland’s Team Spark show off and educate visitors about their electric race car. In addition, visitors get insight into how zebrafish are used to research human diseases, how quantum computing and technology will revolutionise computing, and what impact cyberattacks have on infrastructure in Iceland through a LEGO model!
Staff from the University of Iceland's ever-popular Science Workshop will also have fun equipment and tools on site. Visitors can experiment with a thermal imaging camera, try encryption, look at black holes, and much more.
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of Researchers' Night, political science professors Hulda Þórisdóttir from the University of Iceland and Eiríkur Bergmann from Bifröst University will also record a new episode of the podcast series Skuggavaldið in front of a live audience. The podcast discusses conspiracy theories from various angles.
Rannís manages Researchers' Night in Iceland. You can find out more about the event on their website.