From October 21 to 23, 2021, the Science Days took place at Europapark Rust. More than 60 exhibitors offered hands-on research and technology at Germany's oldest science festival, which was organized this year for the 20th time by the association Science and Technology e.V. This year, livMatS was also represented with a booth.
livMatS showed at the booth materials with special properties: The more than 8,000 visitors to the festival were able to experiment with shape-memory polymers, try out for themselves how hydrophobic surfaces or metamaterials behave, and learn why thermoresponsive plastics change color. The children and young adults were also able to see how materials work that contract similar to artificial muscles with the help of electrical voltage, or how glass is shaped in a 3D printer.
livMatS participated in the Science Days for the second time. Due to Corona restrictions, last year the organizers offered a purely digital program, to which livMatS contributed explanatory videos. In 2021, there were online experiments again in addition to the on-site program at Europapark.
The experiments can now continue at home: With the instructions for the "spaghetti experiment" or for an experiment on the movement of pine cones, the children received materials at the livMatS booth to satisfy their thirst for research even after the Science Days.
Instructions for the Spaghetti Experiment