Science Festival

SCOOL every year organizes and promotes some scientific festivals in the Italian territory.

2024

Festival "Scienza sotto la Cupola" di Novara
3rd Edition

16 - 18 April 2024, Novara (Italy)

The festival embraced various themes, involving citizens and especially young students, making them participate as much as possible in discussions and experiments.
Through the words of the speakers E. Della Longa and F. Martignone we immersed ourselves in the constantly evolving relationship between science and art, the first led us towards new forms of narration and technology to talk about cultural heritage; the second showed us mathematics as a tool for creativity, through the discovery of some mathematical machines used by artists of the past to draw. Regarding eco-sustainability, G. Varvaro talked to us about magnetic materials in their use, evolution and revolution in the energy sector, becoming essential components today. With S. De Francia we reflected on equity in medical care considering sex and gender differences in response to drugs. Future-oriented topics were addressed with I. Braschi, who illustrated a more sustainable path through agricultural sciences by addressing the concept of unique health, and G. Jurman, who exposed the fundamental concepts of AI, with a focus on life sciences , exploring the potential, promises and limits of this new research paradigm and its concrete applications.
In the early evening, Tuesday and Wednesday, scientific aperitifs were held which had as guests respectively S. Fenoglio, who led us through the thousand-year history of friendship between man and rivers; D. Colombara and S. Slimani that spoke  about innovative solutions in the production of integrated circuits.
There was no shortage of educational laboratories created by UPO, with the collaboration of Novara high school students, in which participants had the opportunity to discover and experiment with different concepts on colours, states of matter, proteins and sugars; and to undertake a journey on sustainability and the environment and two escape rooms that aim to combine fun and learning: one concerning medical physics and analytical techniques and the other the processes for the formation of cement.
In these three days the meetings have animated the Novara area, demonstrating the importance of research and the pleasure of discovery.

2023

Iglesias FestivalScienza
7th Edition

30 November - 2 December 2023, Iglesias (Italy)
"Science in Movement" was the theme of a series of free activities aimed at a heterogeneous audience and school students. C. Fasolato, guided us in the vision of science as a vibrant movement of people, a continuous exchange of ideas that goes beyond the barriers of personal beliefs, while the friends of Non è la Zebra revealed why we often prefer reassuring explanations to more complex and uncertain: a compelling analysis of the psychology of our choices. M. Ruspa led us into the world of radiation and their interaction with living matter, explaining how they can be used for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes, while S. Carniel and A. Benedetti addressed the theme of the rising sea, exploring the challenges that threaten coasts and coastal populations, proposing innovative solutions to adapt to this phenomenon. While S. Sanna illustrated the properties that emerge when many elements interact with each other (collective phenomena), P. Gallina focused on the new art forms generated by the synergy between robotic technology and human expression.
The two scientific evening aperitifs of the festival addressed the theme of conspiracies at the table, exploring the influence of cognitive biases in food choices (L. Gagliardi and G. Durante of Non è la Zebra), and of the "rising sea", thematic dedicated to the impacts of disturbances and melting of polar ice on climate change (S. Carniel and A. Benedetti).
There was no shortage of workshops designed and created by students and teachers of the Istituto Minerario Asproni-Fermi and del Liceo Scientifico G. Asproni di Iglesias.
Conferences, workshops and scientific aperitifs have animated the Iglesiente area in a three-day event entirely dedicated to highlighting how science represents an incessant movement of ideas, progress and technological development.  
Sponsored by "National Interuniversity Consortium of Materials Science and Technology (INSTM)".

Festival "Scienza sotto la Cupola" di Novara
2nd Edition

18 - 20 April 2023, Novara (Italy)
The festival covered various themes in order to involve citizens and especially young students, making them participate as much as possible in discussions and experiments.
Through the words of L. Bracci Laudiero we understood how to develop greater critical knowledge of the information we acquire daily without verifying its truthfulness. While, with M. Saccoletto we addressed the resolution of problems with probability theory, in particular the desire to predict outcomes and dynamics in the game. With R. Psaro we observed how metals and the elements of the periodic table have always played an important role in human life. J. Angelino and D. Peddis, artist and scientist, discussed chaos, entropy and reorganization for survival; in the same way the words of M. Aceto led us to discover the close relationship of chemistry with art and archaeology, to the point of embarking on the journey to understanding and remodulating mental images in architecture with A. Giachetta.
In the afternoon it was possible to participate in the scientific aperitif with G. Chinnici who told us about the energy of the stars and the origin of the elements through nuclear physics.
There was no shortage of educational workshops created by UPO in which there was the opportunity to discover and experiment with different concepts on colours, densities, states of matter and proteins; there were also two paths, chemistry and sustainable, and an escape room on Medical Physics which aims to combine fun and learning.
In these three days the meetings have animated the Novara area, demonstrating the importance of research and the pleasure of discovery.

Three online events anticipated the festival:
Webinar titled "Transforming an idea into a circular economy project: journey through the mineral waste of Europe, Africa, Asia, Latin America", held by D. Guglietta (CNR‐ IGAG) . Video recording here.
Webinar titled "Is it so difficult to talk about Chemistry?", held by E. Polo (CNR-ISOF, University of Ferrara). Video recording here.
Webinar titled "With your nose in the air: air pollution from local to global", held by A. Fino (CNR-IIA). Video recording here.

2022

Iglesias FestivalScienza
6th Edition

 24 - 26 November 2022, Iglesias (Italy)
"Science & Technology" was the theme of a series of free activities aimed at a heterogeneous audience and school students. G. Introzzi and B. Bottino brought the public closer to the most fundamental aspects of physics, through a journey that started from the most ancient concepts up to current research aimed at the discovery of dark matter; A. Saccone presented carbon, a chemical element as fundamental for life as it is important for its various technological applications; its impact on energy consumption, on environmental health and on the possibility of producing clean and sustainable fuels was the subject of the seminar by G. Pacchioni. Sustainability, in our daily practices, was a further subject of the seminar that was presented by C. Fontaneto while with E. Polo we traveled in search of plastic islands to find out what we can do to improve the state of our seas; during the afternoon stops we took advantage of the scientific aperitifs: curious about the Poetry slam? P. Piccardo and A. Doro performed a purely scientific version of the format while with D. Peddis we talked about chaos, entropy and systems that in nature show to self-organize.
There was also be workshops designed and created by students and teachers from the Istituto Minerario Asproni-Fermi and the Liceo Scientifico G. Asproni.
Conferences and workshops thus animated the Iglesiente area in a three-day event dedicated to demonstrating the importance of research and the development of increasingly high-performance technologies.

Festival "Scienza sotto la Cupola" di Novara
1st Edition

31 May - 1 June 2022, Novara (Italy)
The festival covered various themes in order to involve citizens and especially young students, making them participate as much as possible in discussions and experiments.
With S. Sanna we talked about collective quantum phenomena and superconductivity thanks to which, for example, levitation trains, energy applications and quantum computers are created, while with G. Chinnici we covered the various stages that led to modern science, starting from atomism of Democritus. G.B. Appendino guided us towards a new awareness of city biodiversity and how it can help us live better. With E. Gianotti and A. Quincoces Loren we focused on the intertwining between Chemistry and International Literature to find all the combinations of the future. 
In the afternoon it was possible to participate in scientific aperitifs. C. Marras, at the Council Chamber of Palazzo Natta, told us with a vocabulary of words and images the path that led to the photographic exhibition "4.404 km: suolo e sottosuolo. Ny-Ålesund colors" (available at the Quadriportico of Palazzo Natta from 4 to 24 June); while P. Piccardo described the role of the writer, reader, present and projection of the future in the creation of the story and in relation to the impact on society.
There was no lack of educational workshops: the morning workshops designed by UPO and created in collaboration with students and teachers of the I.T.I. "G. Omar" and Convitto "C. Alberto", the  workshops afternoons by UPO.
In these two days, the meetings animated the Novara area, demonstrating the importance of research and the pleasure of discovery.

Two online events anticipated the festival:
Webinar titled "The Music of the Stars", held by M.P. Di Mauro (INAF). Video recording here.
Webinar titled "A journey through drugs and vaccines: Science, History and Literature, held by A. Genazzani   (UPO) . Video recording here.

2021

25 - 27 November 2021, Iglesias (Italy)
“La Scienza tra speranze e scoperte” was the theme of a series of activities aimed at a heterogeneous audience and school students. With P. Dambruoso we talked about critical raw materials and their impact in our daily life, while E. Mello explained to us the importance of safeguarding cultural monuments in order to give historical value to the context in which they live. We traveled in time: with G. Chinnici, along the various steps that led to modern science, starting from Democritus' atomism; F. Cassata told us about Primo Levi's attempt to build a bridge between scientific and humanistic cultures, while with F. Verso we outlined the socio-technological and political-economic scenarios of the next 30-40 years. With D. Comoretto we focused on the physical phenomena that generate color in the absence of pigments; moreover, during a scientific aperitif we observed the optical and fluorescence response of some common drinks.
Didactic exhibition and workshops were also held by students and teachers of the Asproni-Fermi Institute in Iglesias. Another interesting workshop, curated by F. Russo, concerned the lightpainting techniques. Conferences and workshops animated the Iglesiente area in a three-day event entirely dedicated to demonstrating the importance of research and the pleasure of discovery.

Festival "Scienza sotto la Cupola" di Novara
Online Edition

5 February - 24 September 2021, On-line events
The Festival will embrace various themes in order to involve citizens and especially young students, making them virtually participate in discussions and experiments.
The scheduled events are:
  • Webinar titled "I primi 150 anni della Tabella Periodica degli Elementi Chimici tra Chimica, Storia e Letteratura... e attualità", held by G. Cevasco (Italian Chemical Society, University of Genova). Video recording here;
  • Webinar titled "L'isola che non c'è - La plastica negli oceani fra mito e realtà", held by E. Polo (National Research Council, University of Ferrara). Video recording here;
  • Inauguration of the photographic exhibition "Dark Matter" by E. Sacchetti, award-winning international photographer, specialized in scientific photography: detectors and accelerators for the study of particles and gravitational waves, but also of telescopes and radio telescopes for the exploration of the universe, who want to bring the public closer to these majestic buildings conceived by man. Video recording here.

2020

26 - 28 November 2020, On-line events
“Dalla parte del Pianeta” was the theme of a series of activities aimed at a heterogeneous audience and school students. We started from the exploration of the North Pole, with evocative stories and images on the environment, landscape and mining work (C. Marras), arriving at the South Pole where the evolution of the climate and the reaction of our planet to climate change was addressed (P.F. Rivaro). We spoke with M. Lumini on digital innovation, nanotechnologies, robotization and the risks of a complete artificialization of the Planet and its ecosystems. We have deepened with C. Fontaneto a path of environmental sustainability that allows us to reduce waste and encourage the reuse of contaminated water. Other aspects of chemistry on which we have focused are the development of Photochemistry, essential for many natural and non-natural reactions (A. Basso); and the development of new methods to describe atoms and molecules, important for studying their properties and transformations (G. Mancini).
With A. Perniola we discovered how man managed to conquer the sky and space; we concluded with an evocative narration, by P. Piccardo, in which a group of young people revealed the mystery that hovers around the first colony on the red planet.
Click on the speaker's name for the video recording.

4 June 2020, On-line event
The Education Office of the Province of Novara in collaboration with the "Science is Cool" association of Rome have organized the "Scienza sotto la Cupola" festival for the school year 2020-2021.
During the launch event, G. Pacchioni of the University of Milan "Bicocca" and G. Tesio of the University of Eastern Piedmont, addressed the theme of the relationship between man and nature in relation to highly topical topics such as intelligence, artificial, neuroscience, nanotechnology and genetics.

Video recording here.

Press Conference 26 May 2020 here.

2019

28 - 30 November 2019, Iglesias (Italy)
"Scienza è cultura" was the theme of a series of activities aimed at a heterogeneous audience and school students. From the profound meaning of infinity, in mathematics and philosophy (G. Chinnici), we moved on to the surprising sculptures of J. Angelino. While C. Fontaneto has proposed a path in which the pictorial palette, developed for the blind, is based on the chemistry of foods and the colors present in them. Fascinating was also the close encounter with the Moon, who has always been the inspiring muse and protagonist of the cinema of yesterday and today: it was P. Piccardo of the University of Genoa who told us about it. A great tribute to chemistry was given by the National Vice President of the Italian Chemical Society, G. Cevasco, on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the Periodic Table. Ideas and science, imagination and ingenuity come together in personalities like that of Leonardo da Vinci, protagonist of the didactic exhibition and of the workshops curated by M. Lumini.

Preview of Iglesias FestivalScienza

3 August 2019, Iglesias (Italy)
The events were held in the historic center of the city of Iglesias, with the prolonged opening of the shops until midnight.

2018

29 November - 1 December 2018, Iglesias (Italy)

"Scienza e risorse" was the theme of a series of activities aimed at a heterogeneous audience and school students. One of the events characterizing this edition was the presentation of the Dark Matter exhibition by photographer E. Sacchetti, in which 15 double-sided panels were exhibited with the color printing of photographs of high visual impact and, at the same time, scientific content. During the second evening event the CNR researcher M.C. Castrovilli told of her experience in the creation, together with the well-known cartoonist Zerocalcare, of a comic published by CNR Edizioni. The third day ended with L. Bindi's seminar on the chemistry of quasicrystals.