News
The Nencki Institute at the 22nd Scientific Picnic of Polish Radio and the Copernicus Science Centre

The 22nd Scientific Picnic of Polish Radio and the Copernicus Science Centre was held at the National Stadium on June 9th 2018. This year’s motto was: MOVEMENT.

The Nencki Institute prepared numerous events in two thematic blocks: Ants - small, but busy (Work of Ethology) and Brain - our individual trainer (PhD students of the Nencki Institute).

The first of them: Ants - small but busy, presented fragments of ant colonies grown in observational slots. The visitors listened to, among others, "How fast an ant runs" and learned about "The fastest movement in the animal world". The children had the opportunity to draw or create their own vision of ants.

The presentation - Brain - our individual trainer - allowed people to become acquainted with the structure and functioning of the brain, and the mechanisms of the flow of thoughts and information. Participants learned how individual sensory organs function in situations imitating their action under the influence of psychoactive substances (alcohol), and how our eyes respond to stimuli, how quickly the information reaches the right center in the brain. Younger participants got involved with games and experiences expanding their knowledge about the functioning of the central and autonomic nervous system. Every hour, there was a presentation showing the principle of signal transmission between neurons.

In addition, in the "Naukoteka" tent meetings with scientists took place, including with prof. Ewa Sikora, prof. Ewelina Knapska, prof. Leszek Kaczmarek i dr Paweł Boguszewski.

Our tent was visited more than 5000 guests.

This year, as with previous editions, online participants (http://www.polskieradioeuro.pl; www.pikniknaukowy.pl) could watch the Picnic in real time.

Date of publication
11 June 2018