Tartu – The World Capital of Physics PrOgram
CONTINUOUS WORKSHOPS 200-year-old physics office
Physics equipment belonging to the physics office of the University of Tartu from the 19th century will be introduced.
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Making of magic disks
Make a popular optical toy from the 19th century. Colours to the T-shirt
Design a unique T-shirt for yourself by using a chromatographic method. Micro and macro worlds in nature
Study various animals and stones with a microscope. Finding the thief
A fun game introducing genetics. How special are you?
A game designed for Tallinn TV Tower based on the database of the Estonian Genome Centre where people can test how similar or different they are compared to other Estonians.
Circles of the woods
One tree can tell endless stories if you get to know it up close. Making of tar
How to make tar from a block of wood? Timber preservation workshop
People have used timber for a very long time and old buildings have preserved well. But nowadays logs or floors tend to break up in a few years. We will find out why. Various ways of inoculating and grafting fruit cultures
Organic farming: growth, cultures, breeds, foods Measuring a person
Find out your height, weight, and body mass index. Let’s go inside a head.
We will go inside a head and study how the brain works: eyesight, reading, deci- sion-making. Will be possible to make a back-up brain and solve a brain puzzle. Feel the dimensions
Ethnographic experiments: units of length, weight and volume in modern times. Inventions from the University of Tartu
Inventions by university scientists that have been or will be implemented in everyday life: glass that changes transparency, a new photosensitive material, instrument for diagnosing glaucoma, ME-3 bacterium, myometer, robots. Interesting facts from the botanic kingdom
Finding close or distant relatives in the botanic kingdom: which trunks and cones match.
177 Workshops with definite start and end times
12:30 - 13:15 Glance at the past of the University of Tartu Guided tour in the history museum
13:30 - 14:15 14:30 - 15:15 15:30 - 16:15
Workshops in the Tartu observatory and in its proximity Address: Lossi 40 CONTINUOUS WORKSHOPS
Science bus
Various experiments and workshops related to physics, chemistry and biology. Workshops with definite start and end times
12:30 - 13:00 Planetarium show
During the planetarium show “Night sky”, the planets, their movement during the year will be shown together with more interesting constellations from both the northern and southern hemisphere.
13:15 - 13:45 14:00 - 14:30
14:45 - 15:15 Planetarium StarLab
15:30 - 16:00 StarLab planetarium with an inflatable tent as a dome will be used for the planetarium show.
12:30-13:15 Guided tours in the planetarium
Observation of the sun and a workshop for making a sun clock
Workshop for making a quadrant Weather measurement
13:15-14:00 14:00-14:45 14:45-15:30 15:30-16:15
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yEar OF scIEncE In EsTOnIa and TarTu
— ThE wOrLd caPITaL OF PhysIcs
Viire Sepp
IPhO 2012 Steering Committee Secretary
Estonia hosting the IPhO 2012 became the incentive for proclaiming the period between September 2011 and September 2012 a Year of Science in our country. The objective was to raise youth interest in exact, natural and technical sciences and towards career choices related to these subject areas. Under the auspices of the Year of Science, hundreds of events have taken place in schools, towns and counties organized by the partners of the Year of Science – schools, universities, associations, societies, etc.
One of the main events took place on the 20th of July when Tartu was proclaimed the World Capital of Physics within the IPhO 2012. The objectives of proclaiming the host city as the World Capital of Physics were to highlight the importance of natural and exact sciences and valuation of education, creativity and purposeful self-development. Numerous public events took place during that day in Tartu – the first “World Capital of Physics”. At the same time, the annual Hanseatic days also commenced in Tartu. At 12 o’clock, the ceremony declaring Tartu the World Capital of Physics took place in the Town Hall Square. The IPhO delega- tion handed over the Declaration announcing Tartu the Capital of Physics to the Mayor of Tartu. Subsequently, everyone was welcomed to the historic Toome Hill where the Science Town was set up during the Hanseatic days. The Science Town included tens of hands-on workshops, shows by the science bus of the Estonian Physical Society, and the 2007 winner of the EU prize for Science Communication. In addition, there was a possibility to visit the 200-year-old observatory which was affirmed in the world science history by its director F.G.F. Struve who was the first to measure the distance between a star and Earth in 1835. Tartu Observatory has belonged to the UNESCO World Heritage since 2005. In the history museum of the University of Tartu it was possible to get acquainted with the university’s history and contemporary situation. Also, the University Fair (so called “a career day”) featured presentations on enrolment and study opportunities by Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Oxford, National University of Singapore, Tallinn University of Technology and University of Tartu. The honorary guest of the IPhO, 1996 Nobel Prize winner Sir Harold Kroto, gave an academic lecture at
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the Vanemuise Concert Hall in the evening and the day was concluded with a reception by the Mayor of Tartu.
Since the IPhO is a relatively closed event, it is essential to acknowledge the bridge between the IPhO and the host city, make the IPhO more visible in the urban space, strengthen international reputation, and advance potential inter- national relations of the hosting city. The idea that the host city could bear that title was beforehand introduced to the IPhO president Dr Hans Jordens who found the initiative worthwhile. The Statute and the Declaration of the World Capital of Physics were prepared by organizers of IPhO2012 and were presented to team leaders of participating countries in order to make this event traditional in future IPhOs. These documents are printed herewith.
sTaTuTE OF ThE IPhO wOrLd caPITaL OF PhysIcs
In order to highlight cities that host the International Physics Olympiad (IPhO) and to intensify the impact of the IPhO in extending international contacts of these cities, IPhO2012 Estonia launches the tradition of nominating the hosting city of the IPhO, for one day of the Olympiad, as the World Capital of Physics.
The first IPhO World Capital of Physics is Tartu (Estonia), which was the host- ing city of the 43rd International Physics Olympiad in 2012.
The statute establishes the aims of nomination and the principles of co-op- erative activities of the IPhO secretariat (President), Organizing Committee and hosting city and regalia of the World Capital of Physics.
The aims of nomination are to:
● Attract public and primarily youth attention to the significance of the natural and exact sciences, promote education, creativity and purposeful self-actualization
● Acknowledge the venue of the IPhO
● Extend the international reputation of the hosting city whilst promoting its potential international relations
The nomination of the IPhO hosting city as the World Capital of Physics takes place in a public urban space.
Regalia of the World Capital of Physics: ● Parchment (Declaration of nomination)
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● Symbol of the World Capital of Physics (the Chronicle Book) launched by Tartu (Estonia, IPhO2012)
Local Organizing Committee of the Olympiad:
● Arranges and conducts the World Capital of Physics nomination ceremony in co-operation with the hosting city and IPhO secretariat (President) ● Organizes Parchment/Declaration compilation and its delivery to the
Mayor of the hosting city
● Arranges perpetuation of the hosting city in the Chronicle Book of the World Capital of Physics
Hosting city:
● Guarantees the presence of the Mayor or his/her representative in the nom- ination ceremony of the World Capital of Physics
● Accepts the Parchment (Declaration)
● Delivers the Chronicle Book of the World Capital of Physics to the IPhO President (or his/her representative)
IPhO secretariat/President:
● Follows the continuity of the tradition of the World Capital of Physics ● Delivers the Parchment to the hosting city
● Accepts the Symbol (the Chronicle Book) and delivers it to the organiz- ers of the next IPhO (at the IB meeting or at the closing ceremony of the Olympiad)
dEcLaraTIOn
Date and placeWe, the participants of the …. (number) International Physics Olympiad: Appreciating the beauty and power of science, that can take us far beyond the realm of everyday life - from microworlds to the distant cosmos;
Understanding the importance of physics as one of the cornerstones of modern technological society that has given birth to numerous inventions, which are of benefit to mankind;
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Photos by Henry Teigar, Karl Veskus and Siim Pille
Tartu town hall square
geniuses in red President of IPhO hans Jordens declares Tartu as the world capital of Physics
Estonian student kaur aare saar reads the declaration of Tartu as
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countries in solving the crucial problems that society faces, in the name of peace and common progress;
Recognizing the everlasting curiosity of people of all ages, never stopping asking questions and searching for answers, as the main driving force of science;
Committing to the hard work one has to do in mastering science in order to exploit its potentialities to the fullest extent;
Being indebted to our teachers for the knowledge and excitement they provided us with, together with the responsibility to carry this on to the next generation; We declare the City of …….(name of city ) on the occasion of …..(number) International Olympiad of Physics to be the World Capital of Physics for …….(date).
We challenge everyone to discover the power and beauty of physics in order to contribute to the progress and welfare of mankind and to share our love of science!
Signature Signature
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