As we gear up for Pint of Science 2025, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on last year’s amazing event, which was a huge success! From 13th to 15th May 2024, Umeå became the epicentre of accessible science, where curious minds gathered to enjoy talks, games, and great company – all with a pint in hand! 🍻
As the City Coordinator for Umeå, I had the privilege of working alongside a team of passionate researchers, Polina Kurtser, Baraa Rehamnia and Najat Dzaki. Together, we created an event that brought science to life in a fun, engaging way for the local community. But Pint of Science isn’t just about the talks – it’s about making science feel relatable and enjoyable. Here’s a quick recap of the three days, highlighting the wonderful talks and the process of how everything came together.
Day 1: Pub Rött – Opening the Doors to the World of Microbes and Privacy
Our first evening was an introduction to some mind-blowing concepts, starting with the invisible world inside and around us.
1. Atin Sharma – “Why Half of You Is Not Really You”
Atin’s talk was an eye-opener. His talk started with a simple, yet profound question: What if half of the cells in your body weren’t really yours? He explained how microbes that live inside us, make up a significant part of who we are. His engaging style and quirky facts helped make a potentially complex topic both fun and accessible to the audience.
2. NAUSICA (Sudipta Paul, Sonakshi Garg, Fatemeh Sadjadi) – “Privacy in Daily Life”
NAUSICA’s talk explored privacy in the digital age – but with an interesting twist. Instead of just talking about abstract theories, they used real-life examples to show us how technology impacts our privacy daily. From the challenges of online data sharing to hidden privacy risks, this talk left the audience thinking deeply about their digital lives.
Day 2: Gröna Älgen – Light, Senses, and the Human Body
Day 2 brought us deeper into the science of light, smell, and our internal body clocks.
1. Katerina Cervena – “Inner Clocks Gone Wild”
Katerina took the audience on a journey through our body’s circadian rhythms, explaining how light affects our internal body clocks. Living in Umeå, where we either get too much daylight or too little, Katerina explored the extreme challenges that come with these conditions. She even joked about people volunteering to spend 3 days in an all-glass house to study how the seasons affect our internal timing. (Spoiler: It’s not as easy as it sounds!)
2. Tarsh Bates – “Scentsory Foraging: On Olfaction and Microbioart”
Tarsh brought the sense of smell to life – quite literally – with a Smell Bingo game! The audience was asked to identify various scents and reflect on questions like, What does grass smell like? or Do you remember the smell of your mother’s womb? It was fun, funny, mind-boggling and educational all at the same time.
Day 3: Rex – The Endosymbiosis of Life, Mathematical Models, and Biodiversity
The final day was an exciting culmination of talks that took us from the microscopic world of organisms to the global challenges facing our planet.
1. The Endo Trinity (Josephine Solowiej-Wedderburn, Lucas Sanata Souza & Adriano Bonforti – “1+1=1: Mathematical Models and the Foraging of New Kinds of Organisms”
These three brilliant scientists, or as they liked to call themselves ‘The Endo Trinity‘, brought us a fun, interactive skit to explain the complex idea of endosymbiosis – where one organism lives inside another. Their lively performance (which involved the audience!) helped us understand how mathematical models complement empirical research in understanding relationships like those between plants and the mitochondria inside our cells.
2. Ruben Bernardo Madrid – “Missing Life on Earth: Humans are Erasing Biodiversity Differences Between Continents”
Ruben wrapped up our Pint of Science journey with an insightful talk on biodiversity. He highlighted how human activities have drastically altered habitats, blurred the lines between ecosystems, and led to a massive loss in biodiversity. His presentation was a stark reminder of our impact on the planet and the importance of preserving what we still have left.
Trivia, Fun, and Science Shenanigans!
The event was more than just talks – it was a community experience filled with laughter and light-hearted moments. Throughout the event, we kept the audience engaged with:
- Pictionary: Using emojis to guess science-related terms (Yes, decoding an “Ecosystem” from pictures of trees and water was harder than you think!).
- Myth Busters: We had a yes/no sign game where the audience could vote on myths – and we’d burst them with the facts!
- Trivia: From “Which part of your skin has the richest diversity of microbes?” to How much bacteria can be found in your gut? These questions sparked some great discussions.
This gallery captures the laughter, curiosity, and excitement of Pint of Science in action.
It was these activities that made Pint of Science truly memorable, proving that science doesn’t just belong in the research labs – it belongs everywhere, even at the pub!
Last but not the least 🥂 A huge shout out to our amazing venue sponsors—Rött, Gröna Älgen, and Rex—for providing the perfect spaces to bring science and community together!
