Diverse programme attracts record crowd: Almost 15,000 visitors on Researchers’ Night in Jyväskylä!

The European Researchers’ Night was held again at the University of Jyväskylä on Friday, 27 September 2024. The event offered new science experiences, hands-on research experiments and discussions with enthusiastic scientists. Once again, hundreds of researchers from different fields of science attended the event.

The various activities of Researchers’ Night attracted almost 15,000 visitors. The previous record of around 14,500 visitors was set in 2019. Among others, chemistry demonstrations, freshwater pearl mussels and tardigrades in the Department of Biology, and a functional programme in the Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences attracted the audience this year.

“The collaboration with the City of Light was an important factor in the high number of visitors,” says Communications Manager Liisa Harjula. “Spectacular light art was an attraction that made more people visit the campus.”

The theme of this year’s Researchers’ Night was diversity, which is crucial to the university’s role as a producer of research knowledge and an education provider with social impact.

The public was made familiar with the latest in science, for example, in workshops, lectures and laboratory visits. Nearly 900 pupils took part in the daytime programme for school groups. Popular workshops such as “DNA and mutations” by the Department of Biology filled up quickly.

At Ylistönrinne, visitors learned more about Jyväsjärvi’s organisms, chemistry laboratories and the applications of physics. During the evening, visitors were also able to see the Accelerator Laboratory. The laboratory’s door is the thickest in Finland and is rarely opened.

“It felt good that so many people were interested in our work and that the room was full to bursting,” says Arttu Miettinen who leads the complex materials research group in the Department of Physics.

“The variety and scope of the programme on Researchers’ Night was exceptional, and the event managed to fascinate both children and parents,” says Liisa Harjula.

The European Researchers’ Night is a science event that brings research and the work of scientists familiar to audiences across Europe. It has been taking place since 2005. This year’s events were held in Jyväskylä, Hämeenlinna, Helsinki, Sodankylä and Oulu.