Since its inception in 2014, the Athens Science Festival, the most exciting science and innovation festival of the city, has been inviting both children and adults to discover science in a highly amusing, innovative and interactive manner. At the same time, researchers, distinguished scientists, educators and artists are doing their very best to make science understandable and engaging for the visitors.
Since its first edition, the Athens Science Festival has ensured the participation of 5,000 associate scientists, 590 speakers, 250 artists and 1,400 volunteers, explaining why it is considered to be one of the biggest science and technology festivals in Greece. Apart from its large attendance - it has attracted more than 107,000 visitors in the course of its five-year existence - the Athens Science Festival can proudly claim that it has managed not only to achieve but also surpass its initial goals.
Every year it honors its promise; it connects science to our everyday life and showcases its importance, presents the high-quality research being carried out in Greece, discusses and seeks answers to complex and controversial science issues, serves as an inspiration, establishes new standards in the field of science, and prompts young people to consider a science-related career. However, its biggest achievement is that it has made people of all ages realize that science is not only about knowledge but can also be fun.
Athens Science Festival is organized by the educational organization “Science Communication – SciCo”, the British Council, the Technopolis City of Athens, the Onassis Scholars’ Association, the Ministry of Environment and Energy, and the General Secretariat for Research & Technology, in collaboration with many academic, research and educational institutions.
The innovative educational program entitled «The kids, the city and the monuments» is an initiative of the City of Athens. It is realized by Technopolis City of Athens in collaboration with the Greek Ministry of Education, Research and Religious Affairs, in particular the A' Athens Directorate of Primary Education (Environmental Education and Cultural Affairs) and the A' Athens Directorate of Secondary Education (Environmental Education), as well as the Athens School of Fine Arts (ASFA Career Office).
The purpose of the program is to shift the school community’s focus to the concept of citizenship and to promote the development of active citizenship skills in children, by providing them with appropriate stimuli in order to get to know their city better, to learn to love it and to protect it. To achieve this, “The kids, the city, and the monuments” initiative provides children and educators with a multifaceted stimuli and training system, which with regard to Primary Education concentrates on Athens's outdoor sculptures, whereas in the framework of Secondary Education it focuses on architectural legacy and graffiti.
Responsible for running the program is Popi Diamantakou, the President of Technopolis, City of Athens. Specialized scientists and trainers (educators, architects and urban planners, archaeologists, fine art restorers and artists), as well as institutions involved in educational activities, such as the National Art Gallery–Alexandros Soutzos Museum, the Department of Conservation of Antiquities and Works of Art under the University of Attica, the Pireus Bank Group Cultural Foundation (PIOP), and Monumenta join forces for its planning and execution. Technopolis’ project management team is in charge of coordinating the program in both education stages.
110 kindergartens, elementary, middle and high schools of Athens, 218 educators of both, primary and secondary education, and about 3,100 students aged 5-18 years have joined the program since October 2016.In the framework of the program, Technopolis and PIOP published, in June 2018, an Educational Activity Guide for Primary Schools, which is freely distributed to participating schools and has been made available online for public access.
The Institute of Educational Policy (ΙEP) has approved the program’s implementation in Primary Education Institutions for the school year 2018-2019.
Since 2013, Technopolis and the Industrial Gas Museum have been organizing the Summer Camp at Technopolis in cooperation with culture professionals, artists, actors and educators.
Knowledge and culture through game and entertainment; this is the Summer Camp’s concept, which over the past few years has been embraced by more and more cultural and educational organizations, municipal authorities and other bodies, offering structured activities for kids after the end of the school year.
Every day, 6- to 12-year-old children enjoy a diverse and rich educational program which includes drama games, improvisations, visual arts workshops, fairy-tale narration sessions, building activities, educational robotics workshops, as well as activities dedicated to technology and science, healthy eating and exercise, environmental activities, and activities focusing on architecture and multiculturalism.
For the 7th consecutive year, we open our doors to the public one Sunday a month, offering children aged 3-13 years and their families the chance to take part in a wide range of free activities, including educational and scientific workshops, theatrical performances, music and movement courses along with museum education programs, and many more creative activities. In addition, both children and adults have the opportunity to discover the old gas factory of Athens through interactive tours and programs recommended by the Industrial Gas Museum.
Since 2013, more than 15,000 children have taken part in the educational programs and activities held under Sundays at Technopolis, whereas the total number of visitors has exceeded 24,000.
Every September, when the new school year begins, the city’s biggest and most entertaining festival lands at Technopolis. For kids only; access to adults is strictly forbidden!
Colors, shapes, games, music... Put all these together and mix them up with tons of imagination and lots of smiles! What else? Don’t forget to add one or two pinches of joy and carelessness, and there you go...your recipe is ready! And what are all these used for? But of course, for the kids’ planet, the P100! Where can you find this planet? Its exact coordinates lead us to 100 Pireos Avenue, at the intersection of Iakhou Street and Persefonis Street. Just look up at the sky and you will see its three high chimneys standing out. You can’t miss it!
What does the navigation on this planet include? Sports activities for everyone, fascinating and multi-themed educational workshops for all tastes, audience favorite educational programs organized by the Industrial Gas Museum, interactive exhibitions, appetizing cooking and pastry workshops, a food corner, dance workshops, musical theater performances, concerts and performances, lectures and open discussions for parents, and many surprises!
P100-Planet Technopolis is a multi-themed two-day festival for kids between 18 months and 18 years of age, which already in its first year welcomed more than 6,000 visitors. Its purpose is to cultivate imagination, respect, creativity, co-existence and love, and to encourage the parents travel back to their own childhood. After all, “all grown-ups were once children... but only few of them remember it.”
