France discovers wonder of science
Festival opens doors at nuclear power station, a haunted chateau and explains optical illusions
NEARLY 1,400 events are available across the country from today as France marks its annual five-day Fete de la Science festival.
The festival is a chance to enjoy hands-on activities and join in workshops, exhibitions and laboratory visits with researchers and scientists will to answer questions. It is open to all ages and covers scientific topics from the environment and biodiversity to mathematics and astronomy.
Running over the past 24 years it gives and opportunity for both the scientific community to share their enthusiasm, and for the public to learn and have to opportunity to ask direct questions.
Events across France include a screening of the documentary Un Château Hanté par la Préhistoire (October 9-11) in Dordogne, while in Haute-Normandie you can visit the machine rooms and laboratories of a nuclear power plant (October 7-10) or attend a conference on the visual perception and optical illusion (October 7-9).
In Ile-de-France, you can also delve into brain biology at the A vos cerveaux! event in Brétigny-sur-Orge, Essonne on October 10 while a talk in Brittany at Montgermont reveals secrets of secret codes.
Created in 1991, the event now welcomes more than a million visitors each year and runs with the help of 7,000 researchers giving answers, running demonstrations and making science interesting.
As part of the event and in the run-up to the COP21 global environment conference starting on November 30, a special train called the Train du Climat is travelling round the country with environmental exhibitions on board.
It will visit 19 towns before October 25 with Clermont-Ferrand today, Annecy tomorrow, then Dijon, Lyon Perrache, Marseille, Montpellier, Libourne, Tours, La Rochelle, Nantes, Brest, Saint-Malo, Caen, Le Havre, Dunkerque, Lille Flandres and Nancy.
Similar science festival events take place in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Belgium and Italy. They all have the identical aims of raising awareness about the work of the scientific community and stimulating interest, especially in the minds of young people.
La Fete de la Science is running from today until October 11. For more information on the whole range of events, visit www.fetedelascience.fr
Photo showing way to hide code using coloured ink - Enseignement supérieur et Recherche
