From 4 to 6 June 2026, the Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences (FZU) will be at the Science Fair every day from 10 am to 6 pm. Come and see what really goes on inside a physics laboratory.
Experiment with us
At our Fun Zone Unlimited exhibition, you will find hands-on stations where you can explore solar energy, nanomaterials and particle physics. Jump in, try things out, and ask our scientists anything you want. No question is too simple or too strange.
In the photovoltaic tent, you will see what happens to an electron the moment light hits it. In the solar zoo, you will discover just how many ways we can use energy from the sun. And do not miss the levitating train. It floats above its track without touching it, all thanks to superconductivity.
Hidden worlds
At the thin films stand, Petr Hruška from our materials analysis team will show you something you do not see every day. "We will use a glass vacuum chamber to create layers of silver and copper just a few tens of nanometres thick, the same way we do it in our lab," he says.
Then you get to try it yourself. In the fingerprint lab, you will use thin films to uncover hidden fingerprints and match them against cards from a real police database, made together with the Forensic Science Institute of the Czech Police. In the lithography lab, you will etch your own pattern into a layer, using a mask, or just a marker and your imagination.
The biophysics station will take you into the world of microscopes, cells and experiments with light. You will see demonstrations of fluorescence and luminescence, as well as fluorescent labelling used in confocal microscopy. You will also learn how similar methods help researchers study cancer and liver damage. For younger visitors, there is a hands-on introduction to cell structure and the basic principles of optics.
Physics for the whole family
At the FUN ZONE, there is even more waiting for you and your children. You may not know scintillation materials by name, but you have probably already come across them. These substances convert radiation into ultraviolet or visible light and are found in hospital CT scanners and airport security scanners. Browse different materials in a display case with descriptions in Czech and English. Make your own bracelet with scintillation beads to take home.
The Science Fair also offers a programme of talks. On 6 June, Patrik Čechvala will take you on a tour of the astronomy of Middle-earth. He will show you that Professor J. R. R. Tolkien drew on real astronomical phenomena when writing The Lord of the Rings, and explain some of the basic astronomical concepts that appear both in the beloved trilogy and in the real world. Register for talks and find the full programme at www.veletrhvedy.cz.