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On Friday, September 27, science enthusiasts from academic communities, the private sector, the state sphere, and especially the general public crowded the Old Market Hall in Bratislava. The European Researchers' Night brought an engaging program to the capital, and the event was also held in V-klub, Lab.cafe, Aurelium and Cafe LAMPY

The Slovak Academy of Sciences was represented in the panel discussions, some scientists appeared as independent lecturers. The SAS President, Pavol Šajgalík, discussed the topic Will interdisciplinarity save us? and he, together with other speakers, agreed that it is necessary to create a common platform for closer cooperation and discussion.

"I think, it is important to constantly cross borders and enter into discussions with other scientific fields, with different education systems. A platform should be created in our environment where everybody can talk with a clear perspective of future progress," said the SAS President.

An important topic at the event was the construction project of the European Solar Telescope, which also includes SAS astronomers.

"It is essential for Slovakia to participate in constructing the European solar telescope. We have the human potential and professional expertise to become a significant player in this pan-European project, which will place us among the elite in the European research space in the field of research of our nearest star," said Peter Gomory, director of the Astronomical Institute SAS.

The SAS had 20 stands in the capital.

"The main attraction of our stand was the Lego world. In the V-klub, it occupied an area of ​​approximately two square meters. We illustrated how processes work in the river landscape, what types of landscape we know, how we use the landscape, but also how the relations between the urban and rural landscapes work. We also warn passers-by about the importance of biodiversity in protecting meadow ecosystems," said Tomáš Goga from the Institute of Geography SAS.

The Institute of Inorganic Chemistry SAS had its stand in the Old Market Hall and called it the Laboratory of Miracles: Inorganic adventures.

"The Martian soil contains about 25% oxygen. We tried to demonstrate melting with its help, specifically how to make oxygen and various metals from this soil. The visitors were impressed that they could literally touch the soil from Mars, which we produced based on data from the Opportunity and Curiosity rovers," said Viliam Pavlík from the Institute of Inorganic Chemistry SAS.

The Polymer Institute SAS regularly participates in the European Researchers' Night, which was also the case this year. It has prepared specific examples of plastics for visitors, which are not only PET bottles but have a wide range of uses, for instance, in the pharmaceutical industry. The stand of the Centre of Experimental Medicine SAS was called Together to Health. Visitors were transported into virtual reality, where they experimented with their fear of heights.

"It was gratifying to see how much public interest we raised at the European Researchers' Night this year. The health topic is extremely important to people, and we were fully prepared to answer all kinds of questions. I specialize in monitoring the effects of drugs and toxic substances on the body, which is still an unexplored area in many ways and raises many questions. In this sense, our visitors also reflected on it," said Pavol Boďo from the Institute of Experimental Pharmacology & Toxicology SAS.

SAS was well represented not only at the stands but also on the stages. In the V-club, Viktória Sunyík from the Institute of Experimental Psychology of the Centre of Social and Psychological Sciences SAS held a lecture on scientific thinking. Tomáš Hromádka from the Institute of Neuroimmunology SAS talked about artificial intelligence from the point of view of neuroscience. Adam Kantor from the Plant Science and Biodiversity Centre SAS appeared at the workshop on citizen science. The evening lecture program in the Old Market Hall focused on the topic of COMPLEXITY: The complexity of our situation amid the climate crisis, which was discussed by SAS researchers, and representatives of four scientific fields - philosophy, history, physics and astronomy. The following people appeared on stage: Richard Sťahel from the Institute of Philosophy SAS, Oliver Zajac from the Institute of History SAS, Natalia Salomé Móller from the Institute of Physics SAS and Peter Gömöry from the Astronomical Institute SAS.