Projects

Fake news, populism, and polarization are straining relations between science, politics, business, and society worldwide—including in Switzerland. The aim of the “Science at the Heart” project is to initiate joint activities, test innovative forms of cooperation, establish long-term partnerships in the region, and thereby strengthen relations between these areas in the long term. 

The project comprises three phases; the present project refers to the eight-month project development phase from October 2025 to May 2026. During this period, the mission, mission statement, organizational form, and communication strategy will be developed, a five-year project and financial plan will be drawn up, and the first courses, events, and workshop formats will be tested. 

On the initiative of the Winterthur Natural Science Society (NGW) and in cooperation with the NGW, a one-day Biodiversity Congress (BDK) is to be held annually in Winterthur at the beginning of September starting in 2026—immediately after the Swiss Green Economy Symposium (SGES) and coordinated with it (September 1–4, 2026, with the Biodiversity Congress on September 4, 2026). 

 The aim of the Biodiversity Congress is to present knowledge and challenges relating to biodiversity to a broad audience, to identify practical solutions, and to promote smart, effective action in the spirit of dialogue-based problem-solving. The congress will be structured based on the Swiss Green Economy Symposium's tried-and-tested methodology, which has been in use since 2013: (A) systematic dialogue-based involvement (audience and speakers) of the four key stakeholder groups: business, politics, science, and civil society; (B) joint program development with key stakeholders (co-creation); (C) fact-based, high-quality presentations and discussions of different perspectives (multiperspectivity); (D) high level of interaction between all congress participants; (E) strong connection between theory and practice with the aim of triggering joint concrete action and research. 

The Biodiversity Congress consists of a 3.5-hour main program (morning, four thematic blocks, 300 participants), four in-depth, topic-specific afternoon specialist events – known as innovation forums (each with 75 participants, 300 in total) – and an accompanying innovation exhibition. One workstream of the congress focuses on the topic of “Scientific thinking, collaboration, and biodiversity.” This workstream provides participants with comprehensive information on methods for recording and managing biodiversity, the challenges involved, and how practical solutions can be developed using quantitative, scientific thinking and collaborative dialogue. Each year, the workstream includes a thematic block in the main program (approx. 50 minutes) as well as the integration/discussion of scientific ways of thinking in all innovation forums. 

The project promotes an essential way of thinking and working in the natural sciences: systemic thinking with concept mapping. Secondary school students are introduced to a social-environmental system in which flora, fauna, and fungi are interconnected through a low-threshold digital learning game. Using a digital tool, they transfer what they have learned into concept maps to visualize connections and dependencies. In this way, they learn to think in terms of contexts and systems and to critically classify information—a key competence for responsible action in a globally networked world and education for sustainable development.

The Basel Interfinity Festival combines science and art, bringing basic research to life for a wide audience through culture. In 2026, the festival will focus on exoplanets and the cosmos. The highlight will be a concert with the Basel Symphony Orchestra in the Basel Exhibition Hall, which will convey key findings from exoplanet research in a playful way – through intermezzos and audience participation. 

The public exhibition ZELLWELT brings to life the fact that all life on Earth consists of cells that originate from a common primordial cell and function according to the same biological principles. In immersive installations, visitors experience how cells act, are interconnected, and enable biological life. Currently in the concept phase.

Pint of Science is a global science outreach festival that brings researchers and the public together in informal venues such as cafés, making science accessible, engaging, and inspiring. 

The Swiss edition has grown into a nationwide effort: for the 2025 edition, 118 volunteers organized events across 12 cities, hosting 159 speakers and welcoming over 2,800 attendees. The festival benefits society on multiple levels. It empowers the public to better understand science, trains researchers, especially early-career scientists, in communication skills, and provides volunteers with valuable experience in leadership, event organization, and outreach. In this way, Pint of Science both strengthens public trust in research and prepares the next generation of socially engaged scientists. 

Technorama Laboratories: Experience science, shape the future 

With its seven specialized laboratories, the Swiss Science Center Technorama runs Switzerland's largest extracurricular laboratory program. Every year, over 30,000 children, young people, and adults take part in workshops on biology, chemistry, physics, and tinkering. In addition, the OpenLabs, which are open daily, enable around 50,000 visitors to experiment freely under expert guidance. 

During the project period from 2026 to 2028, physical and digital elements will be more closely linked in order to make science even more tangible. Children and young people are familiarized with the creative process of experimentation and investigation and experience how scientific thinking is applied in practice. They are encouraged to work together to develop solutions to real-world problems, thereby strengthening key future skills such as critical thinking, communication, creativity, and collaboration. 

The content and methods of the programs are aligned with the official curriculum and complement classroom instruction in a targeted manner. Teachers receive free exploratory visits and didactic advice to ensure optimal preparation. 

With this project, Technorama is making a lasting contribution to promoting young talent in STEM subjects and strengthening scientific skills in an increasingly complex world. 

The “Skills Kiosk” is a leisure program run by the Science et Cité Foundation that helps children and young people to develop important skills for the future through pop-up science and tinkering activities. The focus is on STEM topics in particular. The aim of the project is to spark an interest in research, science and engineering while promoting skills such as creative thinking, problem solving and collaboration. The Skills Kiosk takes place during free time, for example at meeting points for open child and youth work, in school playgrounds or at extracurricular activities. Participation is voluntary, and the children decide for themselves which activities they take part in and for how long. The Skills Kiosk takes place in various regions of Switzerland, with Science et Cité working with local partner organizations to reach children, young people and their families. A central aspect of the Skills Kiosk is the focus on children and young people who normally have little access to such extracurricular activities. Parents are also involved in the program, as the offer is local and free of charge and gives them suggestions on how they can further encourage their children's interest at home. Another key aspect of the project is to encourage day schools and youth work organizations to incorporate such offers into their leisure programs on a long-term basis. The supervising professionals are supported with workshops and coaching sessions to enable them to continue the activities independently. This enables a sustainable transfer of knowledge that gives children access to STEM-related activities even after the Skills Kiosk.

Every year, 8,800 curious young people in Switzerland take part in the Science Olympiads in 11 subjects: astronomy, biology, chemistry, geography, computer science, linguistics, mathematics, philosophy, physics, robotics and economics. Students under the age of 20 are offered an extracurricular competition with lessons, peer-to-peer support and exchange with like-minded people. During the Olympiad year, participants acquire new knowledge and skills and deepen their scientific interest in courses and camps, most of which are led by young students. This is important because curious and talented young people who are interested in science are often underchallenged and sometimes isolated at school. Through our media work and communication in social media, we convey a positive image of science to a wider public. This relieves parents, schools and teachers, who often lack the time and resources to support talented young people or network them with like-minded people. The cogito foundation supports the organization of the Olympiads in physics, chemistry and biology.

Technological advancements in robotics and AI are becoming increasingly evident in our daily lives. From sophisticated household robots, such as vacuum cleaners and children's toys, to AI-powered virtual assistants capable of humanlike conversations, we are witnessing a significant transformation. This rapid evolution is not only reshaping our habits and ways of thinking but also redefining key fields such as economics, law, and education. To navigate this transformation successfully, it is necessary to train citizens from an early age in critical thinking, to help them become familiar with formulating questions and seeking answers, and to resist the easy temptation to excessively simplify the complexity of phenomena and situations. The project aims to promote the critical approach typical of scientific thinking in an engaging, experiential and playful way. L’ideatorio will develop specific didactics and mediation instruments for school children aged 6 to 16 to tackle the main challenges of this relentlessly advancing technology. Interactive activities will be developed to allow children to experiment with robots and AI and critically reflect on the implications of their use in our everyday life.

Research topics are complex and sometimes abstract. They often require a lot of background knowledge in order to be understood. The aim of the exhibition is to reduce inhibitions, arouse curiosity about science and promote confidence in science. Visitors can experience the exhibition in two different ways, depending on their preference: on the one hand by actively participating in the research challenge, and on the other by freely exploring the six themed islands (curiosity, research, teamwork, perseverance, model, precision). The main element of the exhibition is a Science Mystery Storage Machine, which challenges visitors with exciting puzzles at random. The research challenges cover a wide range of subjects and are designed for various target groups at different levels. The focus is on communicating the process of gaining scientific knowledge, which consists of various steps (e.g. observation, experiment), requires various skills (e.g. creativity, precision) and triggers a variety of emotions (e.g. joy, frustration). At the end of the exhibition, visitors have the opportunity to reflect on their experiences in a reflection area and create a connection to everyday life. 

The Matematicando Festival is a free four-day event open to the general public that has been held every two years since 2014 at various locations in the center of Locarno. The event, which is of regional importance for the canton of Ticino, aims to bring young and old closer to mathematics. The program will combine workshops and events shows to give children and young people aged four to eighteen, teachers, but also parents, grandparents and friends the opportunity to experience mathematics in connection with literature, geography, juggling, art, robotics and much more. For the 2026 edition, 3,500 pupils and teachers from all school levels from all over the canton and around 4,000 people are expected during the days set aside for the general public.

The LernFilm Festival is an educational initiative that inspires children and young people to produce their own LernFilms on a topic of their choice in class. The pupils learn not only by watching, but above all by creating the educational films. They explore exciting questions and consider how content can best be communicated. In addition to collecting and structuring scientific facts, they also look at how complex issues can be simplified and explained effectively. This requires not only cinematic know-how, but also the ability to tell a good story. This combination of different skills promotes sustainable learning success across all subjects and at all school levels. STEM subjects in particular offer enormous potential: they make it possible to tap into pupils' natural curiosity and actively promote scientific thinking. At the LernFilm Festival 2025, which was supported by the cogito foundation and others, over 1,200 LernFilms were submitted for the first time - a new record. We would like to make targeted use of this wide reach in the coming years by focusing the LernFilm Festival more strongly on STEM topics and promoting them through targeted support services.

The 39th International Young Physicists' Tournament (IYPT) will be held in Zurich in 2026. The IYPT is one of the largest competitions for secondary school students with participants from all continents. Being held in Switzerland offers a unique opportunity to promote modern, project-oriented forms of teaching in STEM lessons. This is particularly topical thanks to the further development of the gymnasiale Matura, which will lead to a greater emphasis on such forms of teaching in many cantons. The IYPT will therefore make an important contribution to strengthening science education and public awareness with accompanying events.

The Kangaroo Competition in Mathematics is an international competition in which around 6 million students from more than 100 countries take part. This competition takes place once a year, on the third Thursday in March. The competition is then held simultaneously in all participating countries and is conducted as a written exam competition at schools (under supervision) either online or on paper. The aim of the event is to promote mathematical education in schools. The main aim is to awaken and strengthen the joy of working with mathematics. The wide range of interesting tasks also encourages independent work. Pupils at all school levels are given mathematical tasks in multiple-choice format. Only note paper may be used as an aid during the Kangaroo competition. The questions are not typical “textbook tasks”, they cover a variety of topics that cannot be dealt with in regular lessons due to time constraints. In addition to inspiring ideas, perseverance and creativity, the tasks set also require imagination, basic arithmetic skills, logical thinking and other problem-solving strategies. The tasks often include short stories, surprising questions and results, which may well inspire discussions with friends and family after the competition.

The project consists of a mobile planetarium with astronomy experts who interactively illustrate astronomical topics for schools and school classes with tailor-made astronomy presentations suitable for all school levels. Using modern video projectors and scientifically based special planetarium software, the universe and the starry sky are projected in the classroom with live commentated educational demonstrations. The teaching units cover topics such as the solar system, phases of the moon, constellations and the formation of stars, etc. in consultation with the respective teachers and in accordance with the curriculum. The aim of the project is to introduce pupils from primary to secondary school to the fascinating world of astronomy through mobile planetarium presentations. The aim is to promote interest in and understanding of the natural sciences while enriching lessons with interactive and visually impressive learning experiences.

The Pestalozzi School Camps education program is committed to providing children with high-quality, child-friendly science and art education. We also promote equal opportunities in the Swiss education system. We discover interested and talented children at our camps and provide targeted support for these children in follow-up programs after their participation in the camp. The format is weekly camps in the school semester with primary school classes. The children are between 11 and 12 years old. A camp is made up of 2 school classes from different cantons, resulting in between 40-50 children per camp. The school classes mainly come from less well-off urban and rural areas. The school classes are allocated to us by the cantonal education departments and municipalities according to the above criteria. In 2025, we will receive 34 school classes at 17 week-long camps, resulting in around 800 children in 2025. The scientific topics of the Pestalozzi school camps are cell biology, climate change and robotics. Curriculum 21 is actively practiced at the camps: the children always experiment and tinker as a team and the knowledge mediators work across disciplines. The children are encouraged to think creatively and independently. In art, the children immerse themselves in the world of classical music. They dance, listen to pieces of music together and develop choreographies to classical music. At the end of each camp week, the school classes show what they have learned and experienced in science and art in public performances.

The aim of the project is to teach children (8 to 12 years old) the process of the scientific method and provide them with knowledge to trigger their interest in scientific research, using lively methods such as comic books and playful activities. Interactions between researchers and pupils are encouraged with different options proposed to the teachers. 

Swiss media and entertainment have embraced the rising popularity of content centered around the humble home kitchen, from cooking shows to food blogs and food festivals. Yet, the fascinating science that lies behind every-day cooking – from the chemical and physical transformations during cooking to the biological roles of yeast and microorganisms – are often overlooked. This is a missed opportunity to deepen public understanding of the scientific process. "Cook the Science" aims to bridge this gap by leveraging public enthusiasm for home cooking through a unique lecture series that brings together renowned chefs and leading scientists from ETH Zurich. By focusing not just on culinary results but on the science behind everyday kitchen activities, the series aims to promote a better understanding of how scientific knowledge is acquired and applied. The goal is to make science both enjoyable and accessible, using cooking as a familiar, relatable entry point to engage a broad audience. The events will feature a blend of scientific insights and live cooking demonstrations. 

The low-threshold exchange between science, the arts and the public is central to Erzählwelt Wissenschaft. In the concrete implementation, attention is paid to the reduction of CO₂ emissions, among other things by avoiding air travel, whereby experts are involved via remote connection if they cannot be on site. The program promotes cultural and scientific knowledge transfer through immersive, interactive formats that actively involve the audience and develop new forms of green storytelling. The program combines art and science at eye level in order to make ecological and social sustainability tangible in a cultural context - and invites the public to engage in a low-threshold exchange.