Scientists come down from their ivory towers to meet public

Events celebrating Israeli science to take place at universities and institutions across the country.

By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH
SCIENCE (photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
SCIENCE
(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
A celebration of Israeli science that is comprehensible to the layman will be offered on Monday at universities and other research institutions and science museums from Kiryat Shmona in the north to Eilat in the South.
The “Scientists’ Evening” events, organized by the Ministry of Science and Technology at no charge to participants, are suited for the whole family.
The events, held for the fifth time under the aegis of the European Union, include meetings with professional scientists, lectures, films, tours and hands-on experiences.
Jerusalem’s Bloomfield Science Museum will be open to the public between 4 p.m. and midnight. The DEEP exhibition on unusual animal species in the depths of the oceans will be on display, with lectures and roundtable discussions.
The Hebrew University’s Givat Ram campus will be open from 3 to 9:45 p.m., featuring meetings with scientists; presentations of experiments; workshops; computerized telescope displays; and presentations on fish, polymers, quantum physics of superconductors and satellites.
Tel Aviv University’s activities will begin on campus at 5 p.m. Leading scientists in a variety of fields will lecture on bird migration, witchcraft in Jewish culture, brain research, and more.
Tours of the botanical gardens and the zoological park will be offered, along with theater workshops and a young people’s concert with explanations.
Children can watch how ice cream is made with liquid hydrogen, and do target practice with lasers.
The Eilat Marine Agriculture Center will show visitors how to rehabilitate corals and allow them to “pet” sea creatures.
The Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot will present a three-dimensional model of molecules and offer lectures by senior researchers on brain function.
The Technion’s Madatech Science Museum in Haifa is bringing physicians from Rambam Medical Center, scientists from industry and others to lecture. The museum’s robot exhibition will also be open to the public.
More details and information about additional institutions can be obtained from the ministry’s website (in Hebrew) at www.most.gov.il.
Meanwhile, the ministry will also open the doors of regional research and development centers to visitors of all ages for tours and workshops during the intermediate days of Succot, on September 26 and 27.
Information on the free activities can also be viewed on the above website.