The YAG at Noorderzon

Science can be so much fun! This became clear to visitors of the Noorderzon festival as the Young Academy Groningen organised a temporal devision of the university at the festival area; “Noorderlichten: De Universiteit van Noorderzon”.

In 5 days time over 1100 kids and adults were engaged in experiments and inspired by enthousiastic University of Groningen lecturers.  

During the day the program excited children between 4 and 12 years with the opportunity to be a real scientist for a day. The curiosity of children was rewarded with a diploma. Every day new challenges were presented and questions to be solved, including "How does a brain cell look like?; How much are you alike your parents?; How well do you speak “Gronings”?; and how does gravity work? In total nineteen UG teams developed fun and challenging experiments, making many kids and parents highly exicted to learn more.

Photo's by: Elmer Spaargaarden

In the evening, the stage was converted into a colorful and atmospheric arena which attracted many adults to get a sneak view into the academic world. 20 academics presented their research in a sparkling 15 minute mini-lecture. A wide variety of topics passed by including: Will criminals take over our city?; What is the societal impact of your toilet paper?;  How will Groningen look like in 30 years? And what do we all know about sugar? A real mix of exciting topics that are studied at the UG. The visitors listened to the mini-lectures via headphones, creating an intimate but unique experience.  

Also for the UG staff the event was quite an experience: developing an experiment for kids or mini-lecture staged on a festival requires creativity in making complex issues simple but provoking. Supported by the YAG they further enhanced their outreach skills. Also meeting many colleagues of other faculties and institutes was considered a plus.

A big success in bringing the research from our university to the Groningen community!