The fifth edition of the science and arts festival will be held in Valletta today from 6pm onwards.

This year, European Researchers’ Night Science in the City will focus on the wonders and woes of the brain through interactive exhibitions, artworks, live experiments, music, theatre and symposiums.

The main festival area will span from City Gate along Republic Street to St George’s Square. Other centrally located venues include the Parliament Building, Pjazza Teatru Rjal, Spazju Kreattiv St James Cavalier, the National Museum of Archaeology, Casino Maltese, the National Library and the Malta Postal Museum.

The exhibits will integrate science, knowledge and fun to enable visitors of all ages to learn through hands-on participation. Participation is free of charge.

Here are some of the festival’s highlights:

■ Under the Stars: The roof of the Malta Postal Museum is hosting an astronomy night, including an interactive exhibition by Youth For The Environment (Y4TE) and Kids in Orbit (http://kidsinorbit.com/). Among others, there will be an interactive demonstration on how general relativity works and an interactive game to test children’s knowledge about the solar system. Visitors can also see the sky at night above Malta – with and without light pollution.

In the same area there will be an immersive play by USPA – University Students of Performing Arts Association called In Visible.

■ Science at Spazju Kreattiv: Various activities are being held at St James Cavalier, including science and art workshops, puppet shows and a play on dementia  titled I’m Still Here.

■ Trust Me: Produced by the Moveo Dance Company, the event at City Gate tests our limits and balance by performing blinded on an elevated platform.

■ Funk Initiative – Cartographers: This experimental performance of Funk Initiative’s debut album inspired by insights into the human mind by prominent neurologists, psychoanalysts, poets and artists. Those attending can meet members of the initiative at Pjazza Teatru Rjal from 8pm to 10.45pm.

■ Breathing Life Into Artefacts: Malta’s leading archaeologists will be delivering talks at the National Museum of Archaeology. There will also be an experimental area and exhibits from the Neolithic period (5000BC) to the Phoenician Period (400BC). Last admission is at 11pm.

■ STEAM Street: Student buskers from the fields of commerce, psychology, medicine, ICT, engineering and health science are setting up 20 stands full of brain scans, experiments and health checks in Republic Street.

The event is organised by the University of Malta, the Malta Chamber of Scientists, by the University’s Research Trust (RIDT), in collaboration with various partners.  The full programme can be viewed on www.scienceinthecity.org.mt or follow the festival on Facebook for updates: www.facebook.com /ScienceInTheCityMalta.