Age Suitability: All ages

Times: 6pm till midnight

Location: Republic Street, Valletta

Republic Street is being taken over by buskers, students from science, dentistry, medicine, ICT, engineering and health science. STEM Unplugged is storming into Valletta with over 20 stands, brimming with experiments, health checks and huggable dentists.

Scubed (Science Students’ Society) will perform a number of experiments that you will be able to try out for yourselves. The idea is to learn through practice and have fun doing it. Pierce ballons with sharp kebab sticks without popping them or dissolve cups using liquids.

The aim of these stands is to highlight what fun learning science facts can be. Our team of almost 50 volunteers will be assisting S-Cubed to in making this experience unnique and educational.

A Treasure Hunt kicks off at the Physics stand in Republic Street, where you will start your search for famous and easily recognisable scientists, hiding around the streets of Valletta. Every time you find one of the FIVE scientists, you need to answer a riddle in exchange for a clue. Once you collect all your clues, you may venture to St. James Cavalier for your well earned rewards!

The engineering students have something very exciting in store. UESA (University Engineering Student Association) are bringing a catapult to their stand. Come along to find out which is the best angle to shoot projectiles—inspired by Angry Birds. They will also bring simple Arduino boards to create LED Cubes and other devices. People will be shown how to build the hardware and software and how to fiddle around with the code. IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Student Branch) are another group of engineers that have a whole sleuth of electronic devices they will be bringing to Science in the City.

Not to be shown up ICTSA (ICT Student Association) are setting up robots, electronic balls and even running a History of Computing Exhibition with the Vintage Computer Club, Malta. Smartphones will be available to control Sphero (a ball) through a maze—whoever manages to complete the task in the shortest time will be the winner. Every year, Microsoft Malta hosts a local Imagine Cup. The team winners, Techsercise will be showcasing their app which consists of collecting points by doing exercise and exchanging them for various gifts. ICTSA are also running a QR Treasure Hunt with several fun facts distributed across Republic Street. Users will be required to collect the QR code of ten of them and present the code generated at one of the ICTSA stands to redeem their gift. People will also be able to play around with small robots called Lego Mindstorms. With their big event a History of Computing Exhibition at the La Vallette band club where people can explore the history of computers and how they evolved throughout the years.

Similar to last year, MADS (Malta Association of Dental Students) will be using activities, experiments, games and advice on taking care of your oral health. Every section is dedicated to various age groups and information will be passed out accordingly. Old and new characters will be present such as the tooth fairies, the huggable dentist and our lovely Molly the Molar who just loves little kids. At MADS public health section, advice will be given on better oral health to small groups. This will include demonstrations, toothbrushing techniques and dietary advice and the importance of flossing. Free samples will also be given. There will also be a kids’ section with tooth fairies handing out balloons, playing various games, colouring and so on. People can try to work out how much sugar is found in common foodstuffs. The results are amazing and not always what you expect.

Doctors do Valletta. MMSA (Malta Medical Student Association) will be doing their usual health checks, blood pressure, blood glucose and BMI, so come get your free checkup. They will also be doing a blood press experiment every half an hour with children or adults to show how blood pressure changes with exercise and why. In their Beat the Burn experiment they will show the harmful effects of UV rays on the skin to raise awareness about melanoma and skin cancer. The Beat the Burn team even have UV bracelets. The bracelets turn pink or purple once they are exposed to UV light. Come find out what happens when they are covered in sunscreen. Does sunscreen really work? There will also be kids’ activities with Teddy Bear Hospital sessions, Hand-washing games, healthy Eating games, training of first aid box use, and even a fruit mat (for children to sit on), charts, toys and stationary. MMSA will even bring their new app as featured on Gadgets Malta: http://youtu.be/hbQMWeGIErE.

Other Health scientists will be represented through MHSA (Malta Health Student Association). They will be testing blood glucose levels, blood pressure, and BMI, showing why sterility can only be achieved through alcohol hand washing rather then just soap. Podiatrists will screen attendee’s feet. Radiographers will talk about cancer. Physiotherapists screening that you have the right posture. Occupational Therapists will do sensory testing.

University of Malta researchers will also be hitting the streets with the ImaGenX breast cancer research project and volunteers from the Breast Care Support Group (Europa Donna Malta). Look out for the small but very effective art installation that explains breast cancer symptoms.

fish4tomorrow are bringing fish canapés for people to try out. This NGO stands for sustainable fishing and seafood, and will be telling us about which fish are edible and not on the brink of extinction. Come pick up their pocket guide (Quickfish) and try their food prepared by StrEat Whisky & Bistro. This restaurant has prepared a special one-off menu for Science in the City serving sustainable seafood dishes.

When attending this event, kindly say that you saw it mentioned in www.maltababyandkids.com.