The CurieuCity festival, inviting both young and old to explore fauna and flora, is set to take place in Forest, this year.
From 27 to 29 September, several workshops and activities will immerse visitors in a virtual reality exploring various forms of life, according to a statement from the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), one of the organisers.
With this festival, ULB and its Flemish sister university (VUB) aim to inspire young people in STEAM fields—science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics.
"This second edition, following last year’s event in Molenbeek, strengthens our mission to directly engage local communities, especially residents and schools, in participatory projects," explains Helga Baert, VUB Project Coordinator. "We want to continue demonstrating that science can be accessible, exciting, and, above all, inclusive," she adds.
The Forest edition of CurieuCity features the exploration of the Wiels marsh and its micro-organisms, a deep dive into the world of mushrooms at the Flemish cultural centre Ten Weyngaert, and a visit to the dance school P.A.R.T.S to learn about how species communicate and cooperate. Interactive activities are also available for both children and adults.
Through pre-festival workshops with schools, nearly 200 students have already discovered major ecological issues such as food webs and bioplastics, CurieuCity highlights. Collaborating with both French-speaking and Dutch-speaking schools in Forest, “we enable young people to explore the scientific world in a fun and engaging way,” says Alexandre Christoffel, ULB Project Coordinator.
