Youth and science

Science Celebration at the JINR Museum

In the spring of 2023, the JINR Museum carried on (for the 9th time) the annual educational tradition of the "Mendeleev readings".

It is worth recalling that the idea of a scientific and practical conference of schoolchildren that turned out to be so fruitful, arose in the year of the celebration of the 175th anniversary of the birth of D.I.Mendeleev. The initiators of the readings set themselves the task of giving an opportunity to children that are interested in various scientific phenomena to tell about them vividly, intelligibly and fascinatingly, to instill in them curiosity and a taste for scientific research.

"Mendeleev readings" is a celebration of science, where we say "yes" to an unusual and bright format for presenting scientific information, "yes" to informative and dynamic speeches, interesting presentations, exciting experiments, "yes" to tricky and curious questions from the audience, "no" to boring topics and boring reports on a piece of paper, "no" to a strict jury.

This year, the readings were held in two stages (25 March and 1 April). There were 11 interesting presentations and the age of the participants was from 9 to 13 years old. The children made presentations on biology, physics, chemistry, ecology, mathematics or at the intersection of these disciplines. Here are just some of the topics of the reports: "The big problems of the little penguin", "Chemical battery", "Is the juice Dobry really good", "Vitamins are our friends", "Drink, children, milk", "Magnets around us", "Rhythms of life. Biorhythms of living beings".

It is significant that some of the current speakers are younger brothers and sisters of former participants in the "Mendeleev readings". Sometimes, the children not limited to the usual photo and video sequences, demonstrated very original experiments. All reports aroused keen interest of the young audience, the speakers were asked many questions. This is how a thoughtful attitude to the world around is brought up.

The first stage of the readings ended with a demonstration of a range of experiments "Physics and chemistry in the kitchen" by JINR staff. The young audience was especially impressed by the coloring of colorless mixtures with a decoction of red cabbage, the balance of forks, the attraction of oatmeal to a balloon and spectacular experiments with liquid nitrogen.

The second stage of the readings ended with an intellectual brain ring dedicated to food and cooking. Three children's teams and one parent team participated in the game. The students answered the vast majority of questions correctly. The game will be remembered for a long time by the unique spirit of sports passion.

We can say that the "Mendeleev readings" in the museum have become a real celebration of knowledge - bright, memorable. All speakers were awarded with diplomas, memorable prizes and souvenirs from JINR.

Readings will definitely be held next year, especially since they will be the tenth anniversary reading. You can already start preparing!

Anastasia ZLOTNIKOVA