The wonders and woes of the brain will be the focus of the annual Science in the City – European Researcher’s Night where the latest science and inspiring research on the human brain will be explained through interactive exhibitions, artworks, live experiments, music, theatre, and symposiums.
The fifth edition of the science and arts festival will be held in Valletta on September 30 from 6pm until midnight. Participation is free of charge.
The Science in the City festival is part of European Researchers’ Night and coincides with 300 other events held across Europe. It is supported by the European Commission’s Research and Innovation Framework Programme Horizon 2020 and the Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions.
“Science in the House” will be hosted a day before the festival by Speaker Anglo Farrugia. During the event MPs and MEPs will meet Maltese researchers and discuss their science work. The new Malta Neuroscience Network's work, as well as contributions by Maltese scientists and physicians will feature in this audiovisual display in the Parliament Building.
The main festival area will span from City Gate along Republic Street to St George’s Square and will include other centrally located venues in Valletta. The exhibits will integrate science, knowledge and fun to enable visitors of all ages to learn through hands-on participation.
St George’s Square will be transformed into a ‘brain square’ featuring art installations, music and theatre, an exhibition, and a brain show hosted by Dorian Cassar with a series of talks by world-leading neuroscientists and neurosurgeons.
Andrew Schembri and Toni Gialanzé will lead Brainrave – a system that controls music and visuals with the brain. Mount Carmel Hospital will be showcasing the evolution of psychiatry exhibition and an art exhibition will be put up by the Richmond Foundation.
Raphael Vella will be exhibiting Cortex, an art installation inspired by neuroscience and scientific comparative studies of different mammalian brains and the Paul Curmi dance company is preparing a Maltese traditional dance with movements reflecting the disruption caused by Alzheimer’s disease.
City Gate entrance will also host a science fair, talks, exhibitions and meet the researchers, including an area dedicated to health and rare diseases (National Alliance for Rare Diseases Support Malta, Malta Biobank, Ministry of Health) and the mobile dental clinic run by the Malta Association of Dental Students and RIDT.
A display of four anthropomorphic sculptures displaying the evolution of the nervous system will be set up by Liliana Fleri Soler. Moveo Dance Company will present “Trust Me”, a moving piece performed blinded on an elevated platform.
Spazju Kreattiv St James Cavalier will host science-fun activities for children and young teens and Pjazza Teatru Rjal will host an experimental performance of Funk Initiative’s debut album, Cartographers.
Along Ordnance Street, exhibitions, interactive experiments and activities will be led by NGOs, MCST and NSTF.
Republic Street will be taken over by buskers and young scientists while the science stage outside the law courts will feature money, forces and explosions.
Another art installation, interactive games and experiments will be set up at Pjazza Regina, and a series of science debates at the National Library will focus on the facts of IVF; euthanasia, organ donation; and overcoming mental illness. Debates will be led by student organisations.
The full programme can be seen here.