9 May (Thursday) 2019
Time and Hall
Event
Audience
16.00
A1 Arena
Science Fair (screening)
Nine high school students from disparate corners of the globe navigate rivalries, setbacks, and hormones on their quest to win the international science fair.
general audience
19.00
A1 Arena
50 years since the Moon Landing. Now what?
Dr. Vladimir Bozhilov from Sofia University, Tihomir Dimitrov from Space Academy and Nikola Karavassilev, teacher of physics, go through all major facts of the Moon Landing 50 years ago.
general audience
19.00
Neterra Cosmos
Science stand-up comedy
Brace yourself for a real scientific experiment. This event is particularly suitable for people without any scientific knowledge whatsoever.
general audience
19.30
Aurubis Lab
Ask Schrödinger
Some of the quaint ways of physics will be revealed by physicist and FameLab finalist Dr. Stefan Nikolov.
general audience
20.30
A1 Arena
Slots of fun? The psychology of gambling addiction
Gambling addiction has become a topic of increasing research interest. This talk argues that all addictions (including gambling addiction) consist of a number of distinct common components.
18+
10 May (Friday) 2019
Time and Hall
Event
Audience
19.00
A1 Arena
Black holes and Big Bangs
Professor Carole Mundell gives a whirlwind tour of black holes explaining their importance for galaxy evolution and the cataclysmic death of massive stars.
general audience
19.00
Aurubis Lab
Tiny islands and big science
Dr. Dimitar Zhelev, lecturer at Sofia University, FameLab finalist and founder of Geograf BG, reveals the impact of small islands on fundamental science.
general audience
20.30
A1 Arena
What do ivory and heroin have in common?
Rhino’s horn, pangolin scales, tiger tail – all parts of wild animals that can be bought on the black market.
general audience
20.30
Aurubis Lab
The many faces of polymers
Find out how biocompatible, (bio)degradable and biologically active polymers are used to repair wounded tissue and in tissue engineering, agriculture and super hydrophobic clothing.
general audience
11 May (Saturday) 2019
Time and Hall
Event
Audience
10.00
A1 Arena
Superheroes
Have you ever wanted to have some incredible superpower like the heroes of the movies? If so, then you need to see this show by British scientists Prof. Mark Lorch and Phil Bell-Young.
for age 10 and above
10.00 and 14.00
Microsoft Innovation Centre at Sofia Tech Park
Building machines that emulate humans
This workshop is for young coders who will build their robotic models of a human arm out of cardboard and drinking straws and the results will be visualised in Microsoft Excel.
for age 15 and above
10.30
Aurubis Lab
The princess and the peas ice-cream
Engineer Ivayla Sopotenska from the University of Food Technologies tells her version of the Princess and the Pea. The Princess is now a scientist and the pea has turned into ice cream.
general audience
11.00, 12.00,
14:00, 15.00,
16.00, 17.00zone Do it yourself
Minecraft for education
By using the popular Tynker and Microsoft MakeCode platforms, players will both enhance their digital skills but also apply their creations in their real lives.
for age 12 and above
11.00, 12.00,
14.00, 15.00,
16.00, 17.00zone Do it yourself
Adding artificial intelligence
Dive into the Microsoft digital cloud and find out how to make your apps smarter with Azure AI Services.
for age 12 and above
11.00, 12.00,
14.00, 15.00,
16.00, 17.00zone Do it yourself
DIY: Race car
Sit back, tighten your seatbelts and start making your own race car which will run on… a rubber band.
for age 10 and above
11.00, 12.00,
14.00, 15.00,
16.00, 17.00zone Do it yourself
DIY: 3D Glowing card
What is electricity and can it run through a 3D card?
for age 10 and above
11.30
A1 Arena
Bats did it first
Scientists from the National Natural History Museum at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences reveal the link between hothouse gases and caves.
general audience
11.30
Neterra Cosmos
Science Fair (screening)
Nine high school students from disparate corners of the globe navigate rivalries, setbacks, and hormones on their quest to win the international science fair.
general audience
12.00
Aurubis Lab
Light
Physicist Pencho Markishki from the Institute of Astronomy at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences tells you about his spectroscopic research.
general audience
12.00
zone 42
Rockets
Come to this talk to find out all about rocket fuels from chemists and FameLab finalists Nasko Stamenov and Boris Yanachkov.
general audience
13.00
A1 Arena
The rise and fall of the dinosaurs
A major re-evaluation of the creatures that ruled the Earth for 150 million years by one of the world’s leading palaeontologists.
general audience
13.30
Aurubis Lab
DIY Periodic table
Physicist Victor Danchev from the Space Challenges programme explains how much physics there is for every bit of chemistry.
general audience
13.30
Minus room
National Science Fund success stories
Scientists present some of the most successful projects funded by the Scientific Research Fund at the Ministry of Education and Science.
general audience
14.00
Neterra Cosmos
Fram – the mythical polar ship (book launch)
Join us for the Bulgarian launch of Spanish polar researcher and writer Javier Cacho’s book I, Fram.
general audience
14.30
A1 Arena
The scientists must be crazy
Nanotechnologist Dr. Bozhidar Stefanov from the Technical University and FameLab finalist will share stories which will certainly make you wonder what exactly is wrong with scientists.
general audience
15.00
Aurubis Lab
Saving the Egyptian vulture
Dr. Stoyan Nikolov and Elitsa Ivanova from the Bulgarian Bird Preservation Society explain how science can help avoid the dangers which the Egyptian vulture is faced with.
general audience
15.30
Neterra Cosmos
Musical algo/rhythm: patterns and chaos in music
With examples from Bach to Beats, Dr Chris Nash will present the history of music as a combination of pattern and process, before exploring expressions of music through code using Manhattan.
general audience
15.30
zone 42
Gourmet science
Cooking will never be the same after you’ve witnessed this demonstration of test tube cuisine, mixed with liquid nitrogen and sprinkled with a quiz on your knowledge of Earth and Space.
general audience
16.00
A1 Arena
Life before and after Earth
Where, when and how did life first start? Prof. Nikolay Denkov from Sofia University seeks the boundaries between living and non-living matter in nature.
general audience
16.30
Aurubis Lab
I am a child and I have my rights
A talk on how children develop and mature with the young participants of the Children’s Rights Club at the STEM High School in Montana.
general audience
17.00
Neterra Cosmos
Material science and the power of images
Visualisation and imaging is a way of revealing a whole new world around us. Materials science and engineering is a topic that spans the natural and human-made world.
general audience
17.30
A1 Arena
Weird earthquakes
Seismologist Prof. Boyko Rangelov from the University of Mining and Geology examines the so called weird earthquakes and the reasons behind their strangeness.
general audience
18.00
Aurubis Lab
The Living Thames (screening)
The Living Thames, a documentary by Dorothy Leiper, is an odyssey along the river as it meanders through London and flows out to sea, exploring its ever-changing ecology.
general audience
18.30
Neterra Cosmos
The eclipse that changed the universe. Relatively
Prof. Dr. Ilian Iliev looks at the solar eclipse of 29 May 1919 when Einstein’s general theory of relativity was confirmed for the first time through observation.
general audience
19.00
A1 Arena
AI with bias
As we work to develop AI systems, it’s critical to develop and train these systems with data that is unbiased (if possible) and to develop algorithms that can be easily explained.
general audience
19.30
Aurubis Lab
Earth succumbs to the apes
Chemist Zlatina Dimitrova and Vet Dr. Toma Shtilianov, both FameLab alumni, will guide you through the frames of science in your favourite movies (and some spoilers).
general audience
20.00
Neterra Cosmos
See you in 10 years… on the Moon
In an optimistic scenario, in 2029 astronauts will live and perform science experiments on board the Lunar Orbital Platform- Gateway station and in the Moon Village.
general audience
20.30
A1 Arena
The periodic dinner party
The periodic table is the very symbol of chemistry, its list of the elements makes up the very world around us. This year it is 150 years old and we’re holding a special dinner!
18+
12 May (Sunday) 2019
Time and Hall
Event
Audience
10.00
Neterra Cosmos
A mathematical journey to the Moon
The Centre of Fun Maths and astrophysicist Yanko Nikolov measure the distance from Earth to the Moon in… rice grains. Join them for a lot more ridiculous mathematical fun.
for age 7 and above
10.00 and 14.00
Microsoft Innovation Centre at Sofia Tech Park
Lego robots
This is a project-based workshop using everybody’s favourite LEGO building blocks.
for age 15 and above
10.30
A1 Arena
Kaleidoscope of experiments
Come to the science show of DNK Science Edutainment. Discover the science in its genes!
for age 7 and above
11.00, 12.00,
14.00, 15.00,
16.00, 17.00zone Do it yourself
Minecraft for education
By using the popular Tynker and Microsoft MakeCode platforms, players will both enhance their digital skills but also apply their creations in their real lives.
for age 12 and above
11.00, 12.00,
14.00, 15.00,
16.00, 17.00zone Do it yourself
Adding artificial intelligence
Dive into the Microsoft digital cloud and find out how to make your apps smarter with Azure AI Services.
for age 12 and above
11.00, 12.00,
14.00, 15.00,
16.00, 17.00zone Do it yourself
DIY: Race car
Sit back, tighten your seatbelts and start making your own race car which will run on… a rubber band.
for age 10 and above
11.00, 12.00,
14.00, 15.00,
16.00, 17.00zone Do it yourself
DIY: 3D Glowing card
What is electricity and can it run through a 3D card?
for age 10 and above
11.00
Aurubis Lab
Versions of reality
Dr. Dimo Chotrov from Sofia Tech Park and Angel Bachvarov from TechnoMagicLand will present the basic concepts, the technology and the latest trends in VR.
general audience
11.30
Neterra Cosmos
Mist of light
Assoc. Prof. Dimitar Kolev from the Institute of Astronomy at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences will clear up some of the issues surrounding light pollution.
general audience
12.00
A1 Arena
The lost world of the Bulgarian dinosaurs
Late Cretaceous dinosaur remains and other tetrapod fauna were found in the vicinity of the Western Srednogorie.
general audience
12.30
Aurubis Lab
Decrypting cryptography
Discuss cryptography and data security with coding entrepreneur and founder of SoftUni Svetlin Nakov.
general audience
13.00
Neterra Cosmos
The ocean – 500 years later
Let Emma Huertas from the Institute of Marine Sciences of Andalusia guide you through the research on marine biodiversity and how scientists are working to preserve it.
general audience
13.30
A1 Arena
Evolution of language
Vet, molecular biologist and FameLab winner Dr. Petar Eftimov will guide you through the evolution of language.
general audience
14.00
Aurubis Lab
Green genetics
Geneticist Dr. Galya Petrova links genetics with human intervention to encourage us to protect Bulgaria’s natural resources.
general audience
14.00
in the Sofia Tech Park yard
Rocket launch
See how water rockets can shoot into the sky at over 120 km/h and reach an altitude of about 100 meters. Find out why rockets have no wings and how rocket engines work.
general audience
14.30
Neterra Cosmos
The science we are certain about
Riccardo Impavido will discuss the most intriguing concepts of physics, mathematics and metascience and the scientific fields where there is full consensus.
general audience
15.00
A1 Arena
Engineering our world (screening)
Narrated by Academy Award winner Jeff Bridges, Dream Big: Engineering Our World is a first film of its kind for IMAX that will transform how we think about engineering.
general audience
15.30
Aurubis Lab
Never-ending cave
Speleologist Violeta Zhelyazkova tells you about the obstacles and the resilience she needs to have when climbing down into virgin ecosystems.
general audience
16.00
Neterra Cosmos
Black holes
Black holes are the most mysterious creatures in the colourful zoo which we call the night sky. Everybody heard about them and we have even just seen a photo of one.
general audience
16.30
A1 Arena
The saltworks of Provadia
Learn about one of Europe’s earliest prehistoric salt mines and settlements (5500-4300 B.C) which was unearthed near the town of Provadia.
general audience
17.00
Aurubis Lab
Of vaccines and men
This is a story you do not want to miss – of the complex, winding road of humanity’s battle with contagious diseases.
general audience
17.30
Neterra Cosmos
Pythagoras and the musical scale
Mathematician Dr. Georgi Dimkov from the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences will convince you that there’s a lot more common music and maths than meets the ear.
general audience
18.00
A1 Arena
What’s next?
Diseases will not give up or disappear. Luckily, neither will science nor researchers. Four inspiring scientists will talk about expected massive breakthroughs in four therapeutic areas.
general audience
18.30
Aurubis Lab
The incredible molluscs
Biologist Assoc. Prof. Nikolay Dedov from the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences has many curios facts about the amazing life of snails up his sleeve.
general audience
19.30
A1 Arena
FameLab National Final 2019
Welcome to the National Final of FameLab Bulgaria 2019. Sit back and let our ten finalists wow you.
general audience