The third Vienna Science Festival held from September 18-20, 2010 lured more than 20,000 enthusiastic visitors from Vienna to the Vienna Prater. On Monday alone, 1,500 pupils of all ages and grades came to the Research Tent on the Emperor’s Meadow. With this research-oriented event the City of Vienna in cooperation with universities, universities of applied sciences and companies conducting research succeeded in making science and research easily understandable to all people in Vienna.
Take a look at pictures of the Science Festival 2010 on the ZIT photo blog!
The photo documentation of all exhibitors and their projects can be downloaded here or ordered from office(at)zit.co.at.
Fun and excitement at the Vienna Science Festival at the Vienna Prater
50 projects from Viennese research facilities such as universities, universities of applied sciences and companies conducting research were presented to visitors on an area of 1,500 square meters in the Research Tent. The exhibition included outer space furniture which the firm Liquifer develops and produces for NASA, or the newest hand prosthesis developed by Otto Bock, which comes close to perfectly reproducing the motor skills of the human hand. All projects are explained by scientists on site and visitors can try them out these innovations themselves.
The event venue of the Vienna Research Festival was the Kaiserwiese (Emperor’s Meadow) and the Giant Ferris Wheel in the Vienna Prater fun fair area. Not only was the traditional location of Vienna’s recreational activities linked with science in an entertaining manner, but people were reminded of the origin of the Prater. The Fifth World’s Fair was held in the Vienna Prater in the year 1873. Technical inventions and groundbreaking ideas were traditionally presented in the Prater at the turn of the century. Thus the first Viennese cinemas arose in the Prater, and in 1895 the cinematographic theater was opened. The Vienna Ferris Wheel built in 1897 was a technical masterpiece of its time.
Stage set for 50 companies, universities and private research institutions
At the “Research Tent“ some 50 companies as well as public and private research facilities made their latest research findings experienceable in an exciting and entertaining manner. This year’s motto was "Vienna. My City in 2020". In addition to the Vienna University of Technology, the University of Vienna, the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences and the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna’s universities of applied sciences as well as private research institutes and in particular companies in Vienna carrying out research were also represented. Alongside well-known large companies such as A1 Telekom Austria, Otto Bock, Philips and Siemens, Vice-Mayor Renate Brauner, initiator of the “Vienna Research Festival”, was particularly pleased to welcome many smaller innovative companies promoted by ZIT - Die Technologieagentur der Stadt Wien GmbH or the creative agency departure, which presented their innovations. These firms included the Vienna architectural office Liquifer, which sells its outer space furniture to NASA, or the Viennese enterprise hydrip, with its water-saving irrigation devices and zkoor, featuring its impressive interactive 3D-simulations.
Live lectures from more than 40 scientists in the gondolas of the Giant Ferris Wheel
Vienna’s most well-known landmark, the Giant Ferris Wheel, was turned into a “Research Wheel” during the Vienna Science Festival. More than 40 scientists working in Vienna each held half-hour lectures in the gondolas of Vienna’s Giant Ferris Wheel, which were thus transformed into unique lecture halls. The topics covered by the lectures ranged from Medicine of the Future by Prof. Josef Penninger and Prof. Renée Schroeder and the “Development of Values” by Prof. Konrad Paul Liessmann to the talk given by Prof. Anton Pelinka. The “Research Wheel” was implemented in cooperation with Wiener Vorlesungen (Vienna Lectures) which has created an exciting dialogue between science and a broad, interested public at Vienna City Hall for decades.
Arouse enthusiasm among young talents for research and innovation
The Vienna Science Festival is the informative and entertaining core of numerous initiatives aiming to convey information about research and innovation to the interested general public. Above and beyond the main events, parts of the exhibition are sent to Vienna’s shopping centers within the context of the Research Festival On Tour in order to inspire enthusiasm for research and innovative development on the part of other target groups. At the same time so-called Ideas Attack! are continuously taking place at ZIT GmbH. These are innovation workshops for 3rd and 4th grade school pupils giving them the opportunity to experiment with developing innovations. In particular, they aim to arouse interest on the part of pupils for scientific fields of study and technical developments, due to the fact that there are still too few up-and-coming young scientists and researchers in these future-oriented areas.
The Vienna Science Festival is an initiative launched by Renate Brauner, Vice-Mayor and City Councilwoman for Finance and Economic Affairs, and was organized by ZIT in 2010 for the third time.
