Five to try at the Abu Dhabi Science Festival

Here are the top things to check out at the annual Abu Dhabi Science Festival when it begins tomorrow at its brand new location – Mushrif Central Park.

Click here to see a floor plan of the Science Festival at Mushrif Park

Mission to Mars

“This year, we’re really focused on some new workshops that highlight where the UAE is heading,” explains Linda Abraham Silver, associate director of content at the Abu Dhabi Technology Development Committee, one of the organising groups behind the festival. “And we’re heading into space.”

A Space Station will be erected in Mushrif Central Park, and in it, children (ages 9 to 12) will learn about astrobiology and exobiology on the planet Mars.

“It’s absolutely extraordinary that water has been found on Mars at -29 or -30 degrees below freezing,” says Simon Gage, ­director of the Edinburgh Science Festival, which has partnered with the Abu Dhabi ­Science Festival.

“Our workshop will show children how we may find life on the red planet through collecting and examining soil samples and searching for water and life on the planet.”

Electricity experiments

Children ages five to eight will learn how to create a simple electric circuit to send secret messages via Morse code. How electrons flow from their power source to a light bulb and back again can be fascinating, says Silver.

“There’s plenty for the very young to get excited about,” she says.

“They will come away engaged, interested, and able to see themselves as scientists in the long term because they have developed an interest in the subject and gained self-confidence in it.”

For the first time, the festival will include a “huge, open-source village” featuring 10 stations offering science experiments ranging from five to 55 minutes.

Play doctor

One of the most popular workshops in the festival, and one which sells out year after year, is the OR Surgery. “Get your children’s tickets early for this one,” advises Silver. “Kids go into a reconstructed operating room and, in teams, use real tools that surgeons use to simulate a ­surgery.”

Kids (ages 9 to 12) will perform three lifelike surgeries – including knee surgery via laparoscopy to extract shattered bone ­fragments – and treating a brain aneurysm.

Let there be light

“Because it is the international year of light, we will celebrate with shows and workshops to learn about reflection, refractions, light optics and prisms,” says Silver. The Water Light Graffiti workshop, open to all ages, is an interactive installation featuring thousands of LEDs where children can pretend to be eco-friendly graffiti artists and create patterns, leave secret messages or just play noughts and crosses.

The Light Fantastic workshop shows children (ages 5 to 8) how to construct coloured flashlights and ultraviolet ­torches.

Burst some bubbles

At the Bubbles Workshop and Exhibition, babies and children up to the age of 5 get to step inside a giant bubble, create new bubble shapes and design individual bubble wands.

• Abu Dhabi Science Festival is at Mushrif Central Park, from tomorrow until November 22. Visit www.abudhabisciencefestival.ae for tickets. Children up to the age of 4 enter free; ages 5 to 15 pay Dh10; and 16-year-olds and above pay Dh5. The festival is open from 4pm to 9pm on weekdays, 4pm to 10pm on Thursday and 2pm to 10pm on Friday and Saturday

artslife@thenational.ae