A country without science is a country without a future

Newswise — The Second Congress of Young Scientists took place on the federal territory of Sirius. On 1 December, as part of the Decade of Science and Technology initiative "Science for the whole family", the session "Can science become a family value?" At the session, representatives of scientific and educational organizations, development institutions and businesses discussed how to make science more popular among society.

Alina Osmakova, Deputy Director for Strategic Communications of the RAS Biotechnology Research Centre, took part in the session and spoke about the BIOTECH museum and popular science events that allow both parents and children to understand that science is interesting and important.

Alina Osmakova noted that the niche of science and technology museums in our country is completely unfilled. This was one of the reasons why the research organisation opened the Centre for Modern Biotechnology BIOTECH Museum in May of this year. It is located in Moscow, at VDNKh, in the renovated Pavilion 30. This modern, multifunctional venue gives a clear and interesting demonstration of what biotechnology is. Here you can see how vaccine creation systems work, what is "food of the future", how plastics decompose and much more. Voluminous and complex scientific information is verified by scientists at the RAS Biotechnology Research Centre and presented in an understandable and entertaining way. It is platforms such as these that help to break the stereotype that science is boring and complicated.

The panellists in their presentations stressed that the implementation of such an important initiative as Science for the Whole Family is inherently linked to large-scale science and technology events designed for family recreation - these events must be of equal interest to all family members - parents and children alike. Equally important is the organisation of activities for teachers. Parents and teachers play an important role in a child's life and most often guide them in choosing a career. That is why it is necessary to involve mums, dads and teachers in the scientific agenda, as it is they who will give the children the motivation to continue on this path.

Alina Osmakova drew attention to the fact that children often become conduits of information about new discoveries and technologies to their families. "Often we see intrafamily conflicts even during excursions, as we have exhibits in the museum, which are devoted to new directions (for example, genetics, vaccination and so on), and adults often treat such developments and research with caution (and sometimes with outright negativity)," she said.

Alina Gennadyevna noted that it is also very important to involve school children in science: this will increase the number of children who associate their lives with it, combat myths that may even be dangerous, and fill the "personnel shortage" in Russian organizations which carry out scientific or engineering activities. This is why BIOTECH attaches great importance to career guidance for schoolchildren - the museum organises guided tours for students of different grades and backgrounds.

Leonid Gusev, Vice-rector of Lomonosov Moscow State University and director of NAUKA 0+ All-Russian Science Festival, vice-president of Russian Chemical Society named after D.I. Mendeleev, RAS academician, Yulia Gorbunova, vice-rector of MSU named after M.V. Lomonosov, head of the administration of the museum, shared their personal and professional experience during the session. Stanislav Bushev, Head of Educational and Methodical Activities and Supplementary Education Department; Irina Zhuikova, Director of Social Policy Department of MMC Norilsk Nickel; Vladimir Avdeyenko, Director of Agro- and Biotechnology Development of Innopraktika; Alexey Ponomarenko, Deputy Director General and Director of Engineering Competences Unit of Rosatom Corporate Academy. Nikolay Podorvanyuk, founder of the Indicator.ru project, General Director of the Lomonosov science project, and Editor-in-Chief of the InScience portal, moderated the event.

The Science for the Whole Family initiative is designed to make science a family value. It includes large-scale events dedicated to science and technology and designed for family entertainment. Festivals, marathons, exhibitions and other mass educational events will take place all over the country and will include interaction with eminent scientists and practitioners. The general public, including young children, schoolchildren and students, will learn about the latest achievements of Russian scientists and engineers. The role of science in improving the quality of life for everyone will be clearly demonstrated.