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KIST Celebrates the 51st Science Day (2018.04.20)
- Date : 2018-05-10
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International Cooperation Team
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KIST Celebrates the 51st Science Day
On April 20, the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) celebrated the 51st Science Day through various programs that saw participation from 400 students, scientists both foreign and domestic, and the Korean public at large.
At the Scientific Imagination Festival held at KIST headquarters, elementary school students took part in diverse activities such as a “science + imagination” drawing contest and hands-on scientific experiments. For the parents, KIST offered career counseling and guided tours of the KIST History Museum as a way of promoting scientific awareness among Korean citizens.
Inside Sangwolgok Station, Korea’s first subway-located science museum, the “Science Station,” hosted a variety of scientific and cultural programs. In particular, via a series of questionnaires, subway passengers were able to propose various science-related ideas, such as the eco-friendly disposal of plastic bags and the installation of smart CCTV cameras to make streets safer at night. In addition, science-related children’s plays and a science kit-assembling program helped promote public interest in science.
Foreign scientists working at KIST explored the history of Korean S&T development while touring the KIST History Museum, and afterwards held a roundtable for discussing the difficulties involved with carrying out research in Korea. In particular, participants learned about the late Dr. Choi Hyung-Sup, KIST’s founding president, and his virtues as a researcher. They put forward various suggestions for improving KIST’s research environment while also calling for increased research cooperation with their native countries.
Dr. Lee Byung Gwon, president of KIST, stated that, “Thanks to these Science Day events, I now have a better idea of what the Korean public expects from science and technology, and this carries with it a grave responsibility. KIST will work even harder to find solutions to problems that plague the daily lives of Korean citizens, and it remains committed to its role as pioneer for a future society.”