Abu Dhabi, 20 November 2013. Spectators have been held spell bound by the breathtaking antics of the Zapata racing team, inventors of Flyboard technology, propelling through the air over the calm waters of the Corniche. Daredevils will love the extravaganza as aerodynamics, propulsion and explosive spouts of water combine to send the expert former jet skiers to scale new heights on their joyride on jetpacks. One of Abu Dhabi Science Festival’s (ADSF) 2013 sensational signature shows, this is the hottest ticket in town.

In 21 September 2012, the Russian Astronomers Vitali Nevski and Artyom Novichonok, from the International Scientific Optical Network, discovered Comet ISON. The discovery was made using a 16-inch reflector, where the Comet was at a distance of 934 million km from the Sun, which is approximately 6 times the distance between the Earth and the Sun.

The PSC newsletter is a milestone on the path to achieve the Planetarium Science Center’s goal of science popularization, and realizing the vision of Science For All! The newsletter aims to publicize the Center’s easy, yet unique variety of activities that aim to educate through entertainment, targeting the general public with emphasis on children and youth.

Abu Dhabi, May 25 2013: A key strategic initiative of the Abu Dhabi Technology Development Committee (TDC), the Abu Dhabi Science Festival was recently awarded the World Summit on Information Society (WSIS) project prize in the category of “ICT application; e-science”, hosted May 13-17th in Geneva, Switzerland during the WSIS Forum, a summit organized by the United Nations’ International Telecommunications Union.

Abu Dhabi, May 02, 2013 - As part of its efforts to establish a vibrant Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) talent base in the Emirate, the Abu Dhabi Technology Development Committee (TDC) today announced a new strategic initiative, ‘Lema?’, which when translated means “Why?” in Arabic. The program is aimed at stimulating scientific curiosity within the youth of Abu Dhabi and will tour public and private schools in Abu Dhabi City, Al Ain and Al Gharbia and will reach over 15,000 students from grades 3 to 5 and their teachers. The topics covered through the program will cover biology, through show formats and robotics, through workshop formats.

As a part of the Science Festivity 2013 deliberation, the Bibliotheca Alexandrina Planetarium Science Center proudly organizes a lecture by the eminent scientist, Dr. Farouk El Baz, under the title of “Role of Youth in Assuring a Brighter Future”. The lecture will be held on Sunday, 14 April 2013, at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina Conference Center, Great Hall, 5:00 pm.

The Goathe-Institute in Alexandria cooperates with the Bibliotheca Alexandrina Planetarium Science Center within the framework of Science Festivity. For the first time, Goathe-Institute organizes the “Science Slam” event in Arabic on 19 April 2013, under the title “Natural Disasters”.

U.S. Ambassador Anne Patterson recognized the outstanding contributions of Egyptian women in science during a reception co-hosted by the Bibliotheca Alexandrina and the U.S. Consulate General in Alexandria. At the event, Ambassador Patterson inducted Alexandria University Professor Dr. Boshra Salem into the State Department’s 2013 Women in Science Hall of Fame for the Middle East and North Africa.

The Planetarium Science Center is organizing Intel-Bibliotheca Alexandrina Science and Engineering Fair (Intel-BASEF) 2013 during the period 9-11 March 2013. The competition targeting school students (14–18 years) is designed to increase their awareness of the importance of scientific research. Submitted projects are evaluated and screened on two stages.