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First Leiden Science Family Day: glitter gel, virtual reality and ice-cold clouds

The first Leiden Science Family Day on Saturday 6 October was a great success. During the ‘Weekend of Science’ more than 700 visitors, including 350 children, visited the Faculty of Science. With a program full of experiments, lectures, guided tours and demonstrations, visitors were given a glimpse behind the scenes of the faculty.

Young and old

Family of employees, (former) students, children... Curious faces of young and old filled the atrium of the new Gorlaeus building. On the Experiment square, the youngest visitors for example made glitter gel, coloured flowers and built molecules. Also the Junior Science Lab was the domain of children: dressed in a white lab coat, they went to work in a real laboratory. During brief lectures on the most diverse subjects, researchers told about their work. And through workshops, visitors could also imagine themselves a researcher. Using the VR glasses of the Center for Environmental Sciences they even traveled to various research areas.

Freezing Physics

Cold clouds, floating people and balloons that blew up by themselves. On the first floor students of the Freezing Physics show gave an exciting demonstration with liquid nitrogen. The plants of the Hortus behaved a lot more quietly. But looks can be deceiving: the small plant that stood safely under the dome is also known as the most painful plant in the world! During the day, the public could also take a look at places that normally remain closed. With several guided tours they got a look behind the scenes at, for example, the Fine Mechanical Department and the brand new, state of the art Measure hall.

Children coloured hundreds of flowers on the Experiment square
Experiment 'Colouring Flowers'
Guided tour at the Netherlands Centre for Electron Nanscopy (NeCEN)
Playing with light at the Leiden Observatory Lightlab
During the workshop 'Make your own fractal' the participants created beautiful figures
Dressed in a real labcoat, the youngest visitorsekers in the Junior Science Lab went to work with acids and bases
Workshop 'Paint your own molecule'
During the workshop 'Fishing for knowledge about diseases', you could study zebrafish embryo's through a microscope. Research on these embryo's can help to discover new medicines for diseases
With the VR goggles of the Institute for Environmental Sciences Leiden, you traveled along to with their researchers to their various research areas
A slimy experience at the workshop 'Playing with chemistry'. Here children made their own glitter slime and hair gel
At the stand of the Hortus Botanicus you could see, smell and feel special plants.
The students of Freezing Physics stole the show with liquid nitrogen
The students of Freezing Physics stole the show with liquid nitrogen
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