From 21 to 25 September, the Nencki Institute took part in the 30th anniversary edition of the Science Festival in Warsaw. This year’s programme included lessons and workshops for children and young people, open lectures and meetings, as well as an exhibition of works by students of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw.

School groups from 19 institutions took part in activities prepared especially for them. Students explored topics including the neurobiology of addiction, the structure of the cell nucleus, neurogenesis and neurotransmission. They also discovered the world of spiders and insects and learned about the basics of electrophysiology and microscopic imaging techniques.

Lessons, workshops and demonstrations for primary and secondary school students were led by Aniela Brykała, MSc; Dr Adriana Magalska; Dr Piotr Michaluk; Dr Katarzyna Bartkowska; Dr Kamil Zaleski; Dr Kinga Szydłowska; Dr Dorota Dymkowska; Dr Anna Zatorska; Dr Karolina Lizurej; Adam Datta, MSc; Wiktoria Podolecka, MSc; Dr Jędrzej Szymański; Dr Agnieszka Strzelecka-Kiliszek; Artur Wolny, MSc; and Małgorzata Całka-Kresa, MSc.

As part of an open meeting, Dr Kinga Szydłowska gave a lecture entitled "Medicine is not unisex. Why sex matters in the course and treatment of neurological diseases", focusing on the importance of sex in biomedical research and in the development and treatment of many diseases.

On 23 September, the Nencki Institute also hosted the event “Interpretations: Art and Science in Dialogue with Reality”, dedicated to the links between molecular biology and the visual arts. Dr Marzena Stefaniuk from the Nencki Institute gave a lecture entitled “The many faces of the brain – the art of imaging neurons”, while Dr Diana Lelonek from the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw spoke about solastalgia, photosynthesis and the plant darkroom. The event concluded with an exhibition of works by Academy students inspired by visits to research laboratories, including the Laboratory of Brain Imaging at the Nencki Institute.

This event was organised with the involvement of Prof. Adam Szewczyk, Prof. Jacek Martusewicz, Dr Kamil Zaleski, Dr Dorota Dymkowska, Dr Katarzyna Dyjewska, Dr Kinga Szydłowska and Dr Karolina Lizurej. It was prepared by the Nencki Institute in cooperation with the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw.

We would like to thank all our scientists and everyone involved in preparing this year’s Festival – it was thanks to you that the week was so rich and diverse. Special thanks also go to the Ochota District Office for supporting the promotion of the open events.

We would also like to recognise the Committee for Science Popularization  – Kinga Nazaruk, MSc; Marta Agnieszczak, MSc; and Kinga Kosyl-Dzik, MSc Eng. – for the enormous amount of work they put into coordinating the Festival events at the Institute.

It was a pleasure to welcome all the students, teachers, audience members and exhibition visitors. See you next year!