The future microcosm, elixirs of youth and giving packaging a second life – these were the topics explored during workshops led by InLife researchers as part of the 24th Olsztyn Science and Art Days, held under the theme “Future 2.0: People, Technology, Nature.”
The event, organized by the Kortosfera Center for Science and Innovation Popularization, offered an opportunity to discover science from a practical perspective.
This was another collaboration between the InLife Institute and Kortosfera, united by a shared goal: promoting science and making it accessible to audiences in an engaging and easy-to-understand way.
During the InLife workshops, participants were first introduced to the basics and interesting facts related to the topics presented, before moving on to hands-on experiments and practical activities. The workshops were attended by students from primary and secondary schools.
The students explored the world of microorganisms used, among other things, in food production, environmental remediation and biofuel production. They prepared their own samples containing algae and other microorganisms and observed them under microscopes, including smartphone-based microscopes. During workshops devoted to natural “elixirs of youth,” they investigated the properties of extracts made from herbs, fruits and vegetables, including fermented products, and explored their potential antioxidant properties. Recycling was another important topic: participants learned how to identify packaging symbols, use apps that help assess the recyclability of packaging, and design their own objects using recovered materials.
The workshops were led by Anna Ogrodowczyk from the Food Immunology and Microbiology Team, Marzena Lenkiewicz and Martyna Błaszczuk from the Microbiology and Virology Laboratory, and Joanna Browarek from the Sensory Laboratory.
For the InLife team, participation in the 24th Olsztyn Science and Art Days was an opportunity to promote science and share knowledge with young participants. The workshops demonstrated that science can be not only a source of knowledge, but also an engaging, hands-on experience closely connected to everyday life.
