Lectures entitled Summer Meetings with Science will be held every Saturday of July and August in Kashubia. Among this year's speakers are scientists from the University of Gdańsk, and among the participants are summer residents and inhabitants of nearby towns. - 'They arrive at our meetings by cars, bicycles, on foot, and even - from the lakeside - by canoes and boats,' informs dr Wacław Kulczykowski, meeting organiser from the University of Gdańsk.
As emphasised by the organisers, in contrast to other science festivals, which usually last several days and usually take place in large urban centres, the Summer Meetings with Science lasts for two months and take place in the heart of Kashubia, in the open air and surrounded by forest nature. The meetings are open and free of charge.
Every Saturday in July and August at 20.00 at the Creative Work Centre of the IBW PAS in Czarlin-Skoczkowo on Lake Wdzydze, lectures will be delivered by scientists from various disciplines, popularising the results of research conducted in Poland. Each lecture will be followed by a discussion, it will also be possible to meet the speakers directly.
Summer Meetings with Science is one of the oldest and continuously ongoing popularisation campaigns in Poland. The first Meetings were held in 2003 at the initiative of three scientific institutions: The Institute of Aquatic Engineering PAS, the Institute of Oceanology PAS and the Dissemination Council PAS. In 2019, the Faculty of History UG joined the organisers. - 'I have been involved in the organisation of the Summer Meetings with Science since the first editions. Today, on behalf of the University of Gdańsk, I have the pleasure of officially participating in this unique event,' emphasises dr Wacław Kulczykowski from the Faculty of History of UG.
- 'From the very beginning, the Meetings assumed the character of a scientific café located in the open air, in the middle of a forest glade, surrounded by beautiful Kashubian nature. At that time, this form of popularising science was something completely new, and moving the lectures from the lecture theatre to the middle of a forest wilderness still constitutes an original and distinctive form,' explains dr Wacław Kulczykowski, 'The Meetings are addressed to everyone interested who feels like spending a Saturday evening listening to a popular science lecture. - The lecturers are aware of the holiday and summer atmosphere of our Meetings, which is why the lectures are told in simple and understandable language, devoid of scientific and hermetic phrases,' he adds.
According to the organisers, lecturers are the greatest asset of the Summer Meetings with Science. - These are outstanding specialists in various scientific disciplines, representatives of both the older and the younger generation, some of the best scientists and popularisers in Poland - emphasises dr Wacław Kulczykowski. Among them, one can mention prof. Magdalena Fikus, one of the pioneers of science popularisation in Poland. Lectures were also given by scientists from UG, among them prof. Grzegorz Węgrzyn from UG. From the Historical Faculty of UG, 12 scientists gave lectures. This year, the Meetings will also be attended by lecturers from this Faculty: prof. dr hab. Beata Możejko, dr hab. Anna Mazurkiewicz, prof. UG and mgr Dominika Leśniewska as well as dr Marcin Szulc from the Institute of Psychology UG.
Programme of XIX Summer Meetings with Science
July 3 - Mastering the pandemic
prof. dr Magdalena Fikus, dr Marta Fikus - Kryńska (IBB PAS, RUN PAS, Copernicus Science Centre)
July 10 - Love in postwar Warsaw with a spy scandal in the background
prof. UG, dr hab. Anna Mazurkiewicz (Institute of History UG)
July 17 - Stories from the streets of Gdańsk. What did former residents of the city do?
mgr Dominika Leśniewska (Historical Faculty UG)
July 24 - About the Gdańsk privateer, a great caravel, a sea battle and the capture of the 'Last Judgement'
prof. dr hab. Beata Możejko (Institute of History UG)
July 31 - The physics of vibrations and music, or why a piano cannot be tuned
mgr inż. Aleksander Żytko (Institute of Oceanology PAS)
August 7 - Floods in Gdańsk and in Żuławy - yesterday and today
prof. IO PAS, dr hab. Joanna Szczucka (Institute of Oceanology PAS)
August 14 - New drugs - new threats. How to save our children?
prof. UG, dr Marcin Szulc (Institute of Psychology UG)
August 21 - Does 'brighter' always mean 'better'? - or the contamination with light".
prof. dr Krystyna Skwarło-Sońta (Faculty of Biology, Department of Animal Physiology, University of Warsaw)
August 28 - Construction accidents with reinforced soil in the background
prof. dr Marek Kulczykowski (Institute of Hydro-Engineering, PAS)
All lectures take place at 20.00.