The beauty of science

In order to promote the idea of social development based on education, science, technology and innovation – on the 12th of September a nationwide campaign “SPiN Day – for the Society and Science” will be organised by Porozumienie Społeczeństwo i Nauka SPiN (Society and Science Agreement). It is the first event of this kind implemented on such a scale by science communicators in Poland.

‘On the national level, we would like to show the coherence in the diversified environment of informal education, its potential and the mutual support. On the local level, this is intended to show what a science centre can really be, that it generates fantastic ideas and has a huge potential reaching a broad audience’, says Tomasz Michalski of the Explores Association (Rzeszów) who is the initiator of the event.

During a single day, on September, 12th (Saturday), different exhibitions, workshops and science presentations will take place throughout Poland, and they will relate to a great deal of issues from various domains of knowledge. The SPiN Day events, organised by 23 institutions participating in the SPiN Agreement, will be held in 26 locations nationwide.

The campaign is also the implementation of the key objectives of the Agreement: ‘to explain the meaning of science, to stimulate the society’s interest in knowledge, to create space for a dialogue on science, conveying its beauty and making people aware of its social significance, as well as to bring inspiration for scientific career paths’, as described by Robert Firmhofer, the secretary of the SPiN Agreement, Director of the Copernicus Science Centre which initiated the Agreement.

Let’s put a new SPIN on science!

In 26 locations nationwide, our guests will be able to listen to lectures about 3D space and 4D space, take part in workshops on astronomy or geology, watch presentations about fractals, and visit exhibitions showing optics, numbers, or polyhedra. The SPiN Day is both good fun inspired by science, and the event organised under the auspices of the Minister of National Education, the Minister of Science and Higher Education and the President of the Polish Academy of Sciences.

SPiN for the society and science

The SPiN Society and Science Agreement was signed in 2013 as an initiative by the institutions participating in the 2007 “Interaction-Integration” conference. The primary objective of the Agreement is to promote social development based on education, science, technology and innovation, by encouraging people to think critically and creatively, to help build the sense of identity and responsibility as well as to support better understanding of science and inspiring social dialogue. The significance of the Agreement was highlighted by Joanna Kluzik-Rostkowska, the Minister of National Education, ‘From the educational point of view, you are invaluable. We have to do everything to promote our existence among schools and parents’, Joanna Kluzik-Rostkowska said during this year’s meeting with the Board of the SPiN Society and Science Agreement. And the Minister of Science and Higher Education, Ms Lena Kolarska-Bobińska, added, ‘What is delivered by the SPiN environment is also important for the European Union. Nowadays, innovations are regarded as the driving force of the economy. And the ability to think innovatively is born out of the entire educational process, from kindergartens to universities. This process, in turn, can only happen when science is linked to society’.