Scientists’ Night invites public to consider the future
Who knows what the future holds for us? Will the human race continue to have hunger? Will computers learn to love or will they teach us to love?
By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICHUpdated: SEPTEMBER 20, 2017 10:48CHILDREN PARTICIPATE in technology-related activities during Scientists’ Night at the University of Haifa in 2016(photo credit: Courtesy)
The public will have a chance to get up close with researchers and ask them questions on a variety of subjects on Tuesday during the annual Scientists’ Night events, taking place at universities and research institutes around the country between 4 p.m. and 10 p.m.The free events were initiated and are supported by the Science and Technology Ministry and the European Union.The future is intriguing, exciting and fueled by science-fiction films on the one hand while on the other, it’s filled with various prophecies of doom.Much of the scientific and technological outlook can be learned from research that is taking place today – budding developments and discoveries, thoughts about the future based on existing knowledge and bold predictions about future implementations of familiar applications.Who knows what the future holds for us? Will the human race continue to have hunger? Will computers learn to love or will they teach us to love? These are just some of the topics to be raised at Jerusalem’s Bloomfield Science Museum.Among the activities, there are virtual reality games for children over the age of six and a toy building workshop for children aged 10 and above. A workshop for the construction of wearable technological equipment will be open for children aged eight and above while Lego bricks with electronic conductors will also be available, along with a panel of researchers at 5.30 p.m. and 7.30 p.m.Additional events will be held at the Hebrew University’s Givat Ram Campus and the Hadassah University Medical Center in Ein Kerem. Tel Aviv University will offer discussions on what the city will look like, what the weather will be, how people will be transported and what they will eat in 2050. Throughout the campus, there will be a large number of centers that will present scientific developments, discoveries, experiments, demonstrations, shows and activities, so that each person can find activities appropriate to his or her interests and age.For future scientists in the central plaza, two brain-science activities will be conducted. One focus will be on artificial intelligence – such as how it works and whether the future belongs to robots. Not far from there will be children’s activities for those over age six that will explain how the brain works. Young participants will build a model of the brain and identify the role of each region in it. In the courtyard, a “train of the future” without wheels will be installed.The University of Haifa’s scientists will explain how psychotherapy will look in 50 years, whether robots will replace humans and how Judaism will adapt to the reality in which we inhabit new planets.The activities will also include practical experiences in the various studies conducted at the university, workshops, major lectures, exhibitions, children’s activities and an X-Box tournament for youth. Participants will be invited to write their wish on the Wall of Wishes and to sign the Convention for a Better Humanity in 2050.See the Science and Technology Ministry’s website for more details at www.most.gov.il.
