The end of summer holidays isn’t usually the happiest time for schoolchildren, but the sixteen kids who came every afternoon from August 27 to 29 to the summer camp at the Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, organized by colleagues from the Division of Optics, saw it quite differently. They spent their last holiday days uncovering the secrets of science—and having plenty of fun along the way.
The participants tried out a number of experiments, some of which can easily be repeated at home. For example, they discovered that ordinary red cabbage juice works perfectly as a natural pH indicator for unknown liquids.
Guided by experienced scientists, the children also peeked into several fields of research. In the microbiology part, they learned that what looks clean at first sight doesn’t always mean it’s free of microscopic life. With swabs taken from everyday objects—like a phone, a door handle, or their own hands—they grew bacterial colonies on nutrient agar in Petri dishes. The results were often surprising, and it was a valuable lesson about how much bacteria surround us in everyday life. In the physics section, they explored the conductivity of graphite lead and measured electrical resistance.
The sweet highlight of the three-day science adventure was making ice cream with liquid nitrogen. And by all accounts, it was delicious! To round off the program with a proper touch of excitement, the kids also witnessed a controlled “explosion.” Everything was carried out safely—and with huge enthusiasm.
Throughout the camp, the young explorers were accompanied by Kvído Fyzído, an adorable little scientist created with the help of AI. He explained the tasks, praised the children for completing them, and was the central character in their science journals, which the kids kept throughout the three days.
So in the end, the children took home not only new knowledge, but also the joy of discovery and experiences that surely made returning to school a lot easier.
