Sofia Science Festival, 9-12 May, Sofia Tech Park – Main programme

08 May 2019

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

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