On 9 December, the first science slam for young researchers was held at the coworking centre of the House of Youth club. 5 best school pupils presented their projects in front of the jury.
Science Slam is a new format of project presentation similar to a Stand Up rather than a conference. Such shows a very popular all over the world. They are usually held at a bar or a club, and the winner is determined by the intensity of the applause. One common thing with a traditional format is that all the participants (both the presenters and the audience) are interested in science. The “Kids” in the title means that this time the contestants of the show were children.
Each contestant had 10 minutes to tell the audience about their topic, such as the advantages of buying your own island, the possibility of revival after cryonics procedures, ways to make a microscope or VR glasses yourself, or the common linguistic features of the East Slavic languages.
In advance of the show, the children had been trained by a professional team consisting of young researchers who gave the contestants useful advice and helped them to prepare for the slam, and a specialist on vocal performance, Gor Ogayan.
All the participants live and breath science. Their projects are aimed at the improvement of our world and environment.
“My projects are my life. I just can’t live without the constant flow of ideas, conferences, and contests. This Science Slam is a part of it. I just can’t stop developing something new”, – told us Ksenia Shanina, who invented her own microscope.
The event was held in an informal atmosphere, and, although all the participants worked hard while preparing for the contest, the winner was determined by the intensity of the applause with the help of a sound meter. The loudest applause were given to Alexey Volkov, the inventor of VR glasses.
“I have always been interested how everything in the world works, and why things are how they are. I also like computers. I like to write programmes and create something using a computer. When I heard the results I was surprised. I was happy, of course. It’s fascinating. I’ll hang the gloves – the symbol of the victory – next to my computer, because that's where I spend most of my time. They will remind me of my success and encourage to win more.
Science slam kids is becoming more popular as it gives young pupils career guidance and brings them closer to the real science and real researchers. It helps children to show off their talents.
“A Russian-German Science Slam kids was once held in Rostov-on-Don, and there was another one held in Khabarovsk not so long ago. So I thought I’d like to see one in Voronezh as well. We submitted an application for the Voronezh Region Youth Government Award and won”, – said Natalia Kuznetsova, a third year student of the Faculty of Applied Mathematics, Informatics, and Mechanics, member of the Voronezh Region Youth Government Office and the coordinator of the Science Slam kids in Voronezh.
Science is gaining popularity, and it is really good news. Various solutions suggested by children are usually very simple and very effective. Now we know for sure that all the East Slavic languages are related, cryonics is far from being perfect, and if you want to buy an island, its better to buy one in the Atlantic Ocean.
“Science is easy, if you really like it”, – said Natalia Kuznetsova. And children are a living proof of it.
