Programme
Check and book your events in languages different from Bulgarian in chronological order here or browse by title in the Events menu. You can find the full programme of the festival on the Bulgarian language page or download the pdf booklet.
Bread for the future: enhancing the resilience of crops in the era of global environmental stress
22 October, 5:30 pm, Cosmos Hall
Scientists at CPSBB are studying a biostimulant made from extracts of seaweed from the Atlantic Ocean. The aim is to explore how these extracts can support plant growth, improve resilience to environmental stress, and help maintain crop productivity.
Dr. Kanojia will explain how seaweed extracts work and how they can be used to improve plant performance under different growing conditions. The talk will explore their effects on maize and tomato grown under normal and drought-stress conditions, as well as on pepper and aubergine grown under practical field conditions. We will examine how crops respond to water limitation and gain insights into how seaweed extracts can improve plant performance under both stress and non-stress conditions.
Finally, we will take a closer look at what happens inside plants at the molecular and physiological levels, exploring the mechanisms through which seaweed extracts may help plants respond to stress and support crop growth and productivity.
The Blue Planet Outside the Window – Shen Zhou 13
22 October, 18:00, Hall Laboratory
“The Blue Planet Outside the Window – Shen Zhou 13” is China’s first documentary film shot in space. Shenzhou-13 astronauts Zhai Zhigang, Wang Yaping, and Ye Guangfu, who served as the film’s cinematographers, captured the majority of the footage aboard the Chinese space station. Inspired by the Shenzhou-13 mission—the first to carry out a six-month stay in orbit—the story unfolds through the eyes of astronaut Wang Yaping, guiding audiences on an immersive journey 400 kilometers above Earth. Through this perspective, viewers witness the breathtaking beauty of our planet and experience the astronauts’ genuine emotions in the vastness of space.
Filmed using a groundbreaking cinematic approach inside the Chinese space station, the movie offers both awe-inspiring, never-before-seen visuals of space and intimate glimpses into the astronauts’ daily lives. From the routine operations onboard to the serene views of the blue Earth drifting past the window, from the scientific experiments conducted in the space lab to the dazzling city lights shimmering beneath the night sky—the audience is transported into the heart of China’s space station. There, they witness the nation’s remarkable achievements in space exploration and feel the enduring allure of the cosmos.
Fossil hunt!
25 October, 10:30 am, Hall DNA, for children aged 10-15
We will go fossil hunting today! But we will do this right here from the Festival together with paleontologist Dr. Michael Sandy during this hands on activity!
Participants will work in pairs and working together will clean and sort through a sample of fossil-rich sediment from North Carolina, U.S.A. In this sediment there are some tiny complete fossils (a few mm in length) and also a lot of shell fragments from shelled-creatures (also fossils). From the collected fossils participants will identify their fossils and then consider what fossils can tell us about the past (the sediment and fossils are around 15 million years old).
Fossils from Bulgaria and elsewhere will be discussed in the remaining time as well as ideas about where to see more fossils and learn more.
In English with translation into Bulgarian.
Parents are requested to sign up only their children for this workshop while visiting one of our adult events at the same time.
The Shape of Water
25 October, 03:00 pm, Hall Cosmos
How much water does it take to survive on Mars? Less than one elephant drinks in four days. That’s the kind of question Earth & space explorer Niamh Shaw has had to answer in real life!
Niamh has lived on rationed water in a Mars simulation, tracked penguins across the Antarctic, and been sniffed out by a hungry polar bear in the Arctic. Now she’s bringing it all to Science Week.
The Shape of Water is a wild, funny, hands-on adventure for families. Watch ice melt in real time. Find out who copes better with the cold – you or a penguin. Try the blubber glove challenge. Meet the animals who’ve cracked survival tricks humans haven’t. And hear real stories from the ice, the desert, and a simulated Mars mission, told by someone who’s actually been there.
Big questions, brilliant facts, real adventure. Bring the kids – and your sense of wonder.
In English.
In partnership with the Embassy of Ireland, marking Ireland’s presidency of the Council of Europe.