Under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, ADEC announces the return of the 6th annual Abu Dhabi Science Festival, now in its sixth year and staged at family-friendly Umm Al Emarat Park and Al Ain Zoo.
• Action-packed and fun-filled activities to encourage more engagement with STEM subjects
• Exclusively organized by the Abu Dhabi Education Council to inspire future workforce to succeed in technology and innovation
• ADSF is part of the nationwide UAE Innovation Week
Abu Dhabi, UAE, 25th October 2016: Organized by the Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC), the award-winning Abu Dhabi Science Festival (ADSF 2016) held under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, makes a welcome return to fire the imagination of the nation’s youngsters and inspire the next generation of Stephen Hawkings and Albert Einsteins.
ADSF 2016, now in its sixth year, will be staged at the family-friendly Umm Al Emarat Park in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain zoo in Al Ain, from 17-26th November, and the focus is on making learning fun with thrilling workshops, absorbing exhibits and spectacular shows designed to bring out the inner boffin and encourage kids to engage with STEM subjects. The festival is part of the UAE Innovation Week.
The event aims to produce world-class learners who personify a strong sense of culture and heritage and are prepared to meet tomorrow’s global challenges.
ADEC delivers a high-quality education system by creating a knowledge base to drive and sustain Abu Dhabi's social and economic growth. ADSF 2016 consolidates ADEC’s key learning objectives for STEM education and complements the school science curriculum.
His Excellency Dr. Ali Rashid Al Nuaimi, Director General of ADEC said: “The ADSF has been supported by H.H. Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, since it first took place six years ago. ADEC actively encourages the study of STEM subjects which in turn empowers and inspires young people to pursue science and technology-based careers. The ADSF complements our eagerness to provide fun-loving, interactive workshops and activities that instantly engage young, enquiring minds. Our mission is to inspire a future workforce with the right type of innovative and creative skills and mentality.
“In addition to adding value to our youth of all age groups, parents will benefit from the festival through learning more about latest trends in technology and science and how it impacts our economy and adds to our goal to become a knowledge based hub with talented thinkers and discoverers,” concluded ADEC’s Director General.
The ADSF has attracted more than 600,000 visitors in its six-year run, will once again be reaching out to schools with its popular school trip scheme that enables classes of students to visit the festival for a more in-depth educational experience.
The 2016 ADSF programme has grown by 20% compared to the previous year, with various interactive and fun-loving activities designed for both children and their families.
Featuring more than 65 workshops and shows in total, many of the new activities as well as some of the returning ADSF favourites will take place at the Al Ain Zoo. This year’s local activities, which make up to 40% of the programme content, have been developed with distinguished partners across the UAE to add cultural relevance and are based on Abu Dhabi’s key industry needs. Sponsors for the festival include Dolphin Energy, Mubadala and Emirates Transport.
Commenting on Dolphin Energy’s involvement as a Presenting Sponsor, Mr Adel Ahmed Albuainain, CEO, Dolphin Energy Limited, said: “The Festival is integral to our annual community engagement program and we are delighted to sponsor the Festival for the sixth year running. Nurturing the development and knowledge of our country’s youth makes perfect sense, especially when it involves enhancing skills in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. We are looking forward to another successful event.”
More than 900 higher education students will be supporting the event including ADSF alumni who are locally recruited and trained as science communicators by world-class experts to deliver workshops and shows in a lively and engaging manner. The Science Communicators have been selected from 10 partner universities: Emirates College for Advanced Education, United Arab Emirates University, Zayed University, Higher Colleges of Technology (Abu Dhabi Men’s College), The Petroleum Institute University & Research Center , Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi University, Al Ain University of Science and Technology (Abu Dhabi & Al Ain campuses), and Paris-Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi.
ADSF also shares a programming partnership with the Edinburgh International Science Festival, the first and one of the biggest science festivals in the world.
Jam-packed with hugely popular returning content and featuring exciting additions, ADSF 2016 will be running at full capacity from day one.
A full schedule of events is available at www.abudhabisciencefestival.ae and participants can join the ADSF’s social media platforms on Instagram and Twitter: @adsciencefest and in Facebook: Abu Dhabi Science Festival.
The sixth edition of the ADSF is organized by the Abu Dhabi Education Council in partnership with Dolphin Energy as “Presenting Sponsor”, Mubadala and Emirates Transport as “Affiliate Sponsors” and Abu Dhabi Media Company as “Exclusive Media Partner”, Yas Mall as "Mall Partner", Al Ain Zoo as Location Partner-Al Ain and Umm El Emarat Park as Location Partner-Abu Dhabi.