In a span of just two days, the STEAM FEST science festival in Noyabrsk drew 2,500 school students

3 february 2023

Some 2,500 young residents of Noyabrsk took part in STEAM FEST, an educational festival organized by SIBUR as part of its Formula for Good Deeds social investment program.

The festival featured lectures, interactive classes and master classes that were designed for audiences of all age groups, from elementary school students to high school seniors. The students were able to acquire new knowledge in such fields as chemistry, physics, math, engineering, and art. Everyone had been offered the opportunity to do their own experimenting in a field of their choice: solve puzzles, conduct experiments in an open lab, create real functioning engineering devices and try their hand at the art of communication. "These days, a successful professional must have the competencies of an inventor, a scientist, a manager, and even a psychologist. The festival’s activities seek to help students develop both their "hard" and "soft" skills, assisting students, their parents and teachers with getting their heads around what is currently in demand on the labor market. We are happy that, year after year, STEAM FEST remains very much in demand among Noyabrsk’s residents and that its popularity is only growing," Sergey Vinokhodov, Advisor to the Director General of JSC SiburTyumenGaz, commented.

The audience was especially impressed by the Battle of the Sciences, a science and technology show where the students learned how inventors’ minds work and how they come up with original engineering ideas. At the Camera Obscura master class, its participants were introduced to a precursor of the all-familiar gadgets of our age combining the features of a camera, a camcorder, a calculator, a personal computer, and a slew of other devices. High school seniors got drawn to a math workshop where they learned how to solve non-standard numerical problems.

We had to use our logical thinking a lot, explained Kirill Koshkarov, a student from School 7’s Grade 8 B. I was particularly mesmerized by the "2/3 of the mean" problem. We had to think of a number from 1 to 100, and then calculate the arithmetic mean and multiply it by 2/3. The one whose original number was the closest to the final result was declared the winner. I didn't win but I learned how most people think! This problem teaches you to think two or three moves ahead, making assumptions about other people's train of thought.