ESCIENTIAL II (European Science festival 2006)

Esciential, the European Science Festival (http://esciential.festivalscienza.it/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1). Discovery was the theme of the Genoa Science Festival in 2006 (www.festivalscienza.it), which has been hold in Genoa from October 26th to November 7th. Exhibitions, laboratories, shows and special events: a meeting between Science and education in a range of "hands-on" experiments in natural science, physics, chemistry, astronomy laboratories, and in exhibitions dedicated to energy, paleontology, and volcanoes, which has taken the public on a journey to the centre of the Earth. During that days the whole city, with its squares and historical palaces, from the harbour to the theatres, has been the stage for a rich programme of more than 350 events, being at a time a discovery itinerary through the most daring and fascinating state of the art scientific researches, revealing their close relation to anything surrounds us in our everyday life. The use of original languages, unusual in the description of scientific knowledge, has always been the Festival's peculiar trait: conferences, as well as show conferences, interdisciplinary meetings, round table meetings with international experts, interactive scientific exhibits, game based didactic workshops, arts and photo exhibitions, music performances, films and theatre shows. In these context, with more than 60.000 tickets sold (compared to 50,000 in 2005), marking a 20% increase, and 205,000 visits to the numerous events in the programme, it took part the European Project "Esciential IE", with exhitions, laboratories, workshop and science adventures from a number of science museums and research institutions involved in programmes for the public awareness of science. The Esciential IE Project has been one of the most successful event of the last edition of Genoa Science Festival, with more than 32.500 visitors in 13 days. Already in the second edition, in the year 2004, the network ESCIENTIAL, granted by the EU Commission (action line: SOCIETY-3.1 Public understanding and confidence), significantly enhanced the European dimension of the Festival, with the contribution of qualified EU organizations. The new project ESCIENTIAL I.E. improved the European spin-off of this event, contributing to the "integration of science in society at a European level", with the following tasks and features: 1. Expert and "apprentice" science "guides" coming from EU Museums, Science Centres and from the Science Festivals members of EUSCEA network participated to a series of social-cultural events aimed at the launching of the European Academy for Science Explainers (EASE). The main initiative inside EASE has been be the second edition of the International Workshop on Science Communication, called F2S4E2 (the First Festival School for Students as Science & Society Explainers of Excellence), hold in Genoa before the Science festival, from 18th October to 7th November 2006 2. The Esciential IE consortium brought in Genova, during the Science Festival, exhibits, laboratories, workshop and science adventure from their Institutions, to enrich the programme of the Festival. It is fundamental to underline that ESCIENTIAL I.E. project involved new EU member States, with the objective of sharing experiences and facing the intercultural differences and the different role of educational systems.