The European Researchers’ Nights are events dedicated to popular science and fun learning that take place every year all over Europe and neighboring countries. The events are supported by the European Commission as part of the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions. They are a unique opportunity for every citizen to meet researchers, talk to them, and find out what they really do for society, in interactive and engaging ways. This year, the events took place on Friday 30 September in over 250 cities. The Researchers’ Night has been hosted by the Foundation for Research and Technology – Hellas (FORTH) for many years now and has been established as a top event for the local society of Heraklion. During the 2016 event, the FORTH UF team presented the activities of the lab to the public, focusing on the URBANFLUXES (UF) project.
Stavros Stagakis discussing the ideas and practices of URBANFLUXES project with visitors during the Researchers’ Night at FORTH.
The visitors found the UF project very interesting and were very curious about the outcomes and the application of the project’s results. Much attention has been paid on the meteorological station network that has been installed in Heraklion in the framework of UF project. All visitors and especially the young students were attracted to the idea of monitoring the urban climate with in-situ and satellite measurements. The concept of providing all the data freely online and especially the real-time meteorological measurements captured most visitors’ attention. The local authorities have also visited the Researchers’ Night, where they were thoroughly informed about the UF project and the importance for Heraklion being one of the UF case studies.
The FORTH UF team during the Researchers’ Night.
