Science in the Citadel is a one-day Science festival, taking place within the historic walls of the atmospheric Cittadella in Victoria on 22 April. The event aims to provide a fun and stimulating experience for visitors of all ages in order to get people talking about science, engaging with its many strands and appreciating the breadth of research, creativity and innovation taking place on the Maltese islands.
Although modelled on the annual Science in the City, held in Valletta every year, this day will be firmly Gozitan in flavour, with displays relevant to our lives here, including items on the island’s biodiversity, geology, agriculture, sea and skies as well as items highlighting the science and engineering inherent in the Citadel itself and its museums. The interactive Science Trail will take visitors around most of the features and spectacular vistas of the fortress effortlessly blending the past with the leading edge science and technology of the future, demonstrating how Science is, and always has been, relevant to our daily lives.
The event will be opened at 09:00 by Dr Anton Refalo, Minister for Gozo, and feature contributions by the island’s schools, underlining the importance that is placed upon communicating about Science on Gozo and inspiring the next generation of Scientists. But it has something for everyone with a series of shows, workshops, live experiments, talks, exhibitions and a science fair.
Participating organisations include the University of Malta, Esplora, Malta Council of Science and Technology, Medical and Science Students’ Associations, Gozo College, RIDT, Malta Neuroscience Network, Malta Medicines Authority, BirdLife Malta, National Aquarium, Police Forensic laboratory, SharkLab, Heritage Malta and many more.
This major event is the first of what we hope will become an annual fixture and will really make people appreciate the science of the future in the surroundings of the past.