Small and big pharmaceutical experts all set for SciFest 2024

Thursday 10 October the doors open to SciFest, Uppsala's science festival which every year attracts thousands of curious children, school students and adults to Fyrishov. Of course, the Faculty of Pharmacy is on site to let future generations of pharmaceutical experts try experiments, participate in activities and discover how fun research can be.

“Our stand is always well attended and at SciFest 2024 we have expanded our activity package to also include the use of medicines. Of course, we also offer some recurring favorites – molecular building contests with nice prizes and an almost magical Virtual Reality experience where you step into the microscopic world and find yourself in the middle of the enzyme that causes headaches.,” says Bobo Skillinghaug, project manager for the faculty engagement at SciFest.

SciFest 2024 kicks offs with two days for school students. On Saturday, the festival opens to curious people of all ages, offering a wide range of workshops, shows, competitions and lectures. Alongside pharmaceutical research, visitors can try everything from brushing dogs' teeth and programming Lego robots to creating runic bracelets and try chemical experiments. The common denominator being joy and positive energy.

“As researchers, we share a responsibility to create understanding for the knowledge-driven society. SciFest is an inspiring arena where we interact with the children and teens that make up tomorrow's researchers with rich opportunities to train how we present and make our work available. The festival simply offers great added value for both exhibitors and visitors,” states Christel Bergström, Professor and Deputy dean for collaboration.

Christel Bergström and her research group are also among the recurring favorites at SciFest, and this year's festival is no exception. In Stand 4: Medical corner, they will guide visitors in how drugs dissolve in different liquids and let them explore work as a researcher in a virtual medicine lab. This year, the team will also demonstrate its highly publicized work to produce individually adapted druges with a 3D printer. For many of the festival's youngest visitors, this will be an exciting, first contact with research, but certainly not the last.

“It is really inspiring to see how enthusiastic all the children and young people are at SciFest. And above all, it is great to hear so many elementary school students talk about how much they enjoy chemistry. Several of them have impressive knowledge of both atoms and proteins, and I would not be surprised if we see them again in a few years as students at our faculty,” says Ulrika Rosenström, Associate professor and member of the Faculty of Pharmacy team at Fyrishov.

The program starts today at 9.15 with Professor Mathias Hallberg, one of Sweden's leading experts in addiction research, who will talk about TikTok, snuff and drugs - why do you become addicted, and can you become addicted to everything? Mathias also teaches us about what happens in the brain, how we can protect ourselves - and why young brains are extra sensitive. Let the festival begin!

text: Magnus Alsne, photo: private, SciFest