[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/5841\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EBringing science to life for young people\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFrom\u0026nbsp;information boards in city parks to temporary science \u2018pop-up\u2019 shops in bustling shopping centres, the\u0026nbsp;PLACES project is working to inspire young people to take up careers in science and technology.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018We put together chemistry experiments that foam, and fume, and explode - the kind of thing that captures children\u2019s imagination,\u2019 said\u0026nbsp;Miruna Amza, who coordinates PLACES in Bucharest, Romania. \u2018Our biggest success was a remote-controlled robot built by engineering students at the University Politehnica of Bucharest ... the kids went wild over it.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorgina Heron, a cosmology graduate who volunteered to set up one of the PLACES projects in Nottingham, UK,\u0026nbsp;ran a temporary pop-up shop for four weeks in the autumn of 2012, which later made an appearance at London\u2019s Barbican Centre in March and April 2013.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018The idea behind the pop-up shop is to promote science and technology as fun and creative,\u2019 she said.\u0026nbsp;Alongside interactive science experiments, guides and career advisers were on hand, and video lectures on space science were streamed live from University College London. There was also the opportunity to play a game of Twister on a mat with squares highlighting elements on the periodic table.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ELooking for fresh recruits\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe PLACES project brings together\u0026nbsp;67 science centres, museums, and festivals in cities across Europe in locally organised action plans to give youngsters first-hand experience of science.\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003E\u2018It made science come to life for me.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EBecky Jantschenko, a third-year biology student in the UK\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo remain close to their target audience, each of the scientific institutions participating in ongoing PLACES projects works with a regional authority. Cooperation with ten European regional networks is built into the project to help share ideas, resources, and results across the EU.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAt the same time, PLACES showcases job opportunities in scientific research for young people, and illustrates how dynamic and international scientific research really is. In this way it is attracting new talent to science, along with fields such as technology, engineering and mathematics.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018It made science come to life for me,\u2019 said Becky Jantschenko, who represented the UK at the 2010 European Science Youth Parliament, an event hosted by a PLACES project partner.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDozens of secondary school students attended the event to engage in heated discussions about science policy. \u2018Our group had to debate whether genetic screening should be allowed. We laboured through some of the technical background. But then, before the debate started, a professional biologist came in to talk with us about it. What they said was fascinating.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe fascination of science\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAfter the debate, Jantschenko phoned the university where she had just been accepted to study English literature and persuaded the staff to change her course to biology. She is now in her third year and planning her dissertation on \u003Cem\u003Elupus erythematosus\u003C\/em\u003E, a group of autoimmune diseases.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018I didn\u2019t know that, in science, there\u2019s always more to learn. We\u2019re still figuring out how DNA works.\u2019 Asked if her studies are offering the same excitement as the debates that changed her plans, she said: \u2018It\u2019s even better, and very different. At university, it\u2019s not about the knowledge I have, it\u2019s about learning new things, and I love it.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBy the time it finishes in 2014, the PLACES project aims to have developed a series of recommendations on how cities can promote science, which it will reveal at a final conference in Bremen, Germany.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/textarea\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n \u003Cdiv id=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 class=\u0022ecl-help-block description\u0022\u003E\n Please copy the above code and embed it onto your website to republish.\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cinput autocomplete=\u0022off\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022form-egqk2pd81ovpx6xc0bozpdiuh66t8oedusu0mgjaro8\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_build_id\u0022 value=\u0022form-EGqk2pd81OvPx6xC0bOZpdiuH66t8oeDUsu0mgJaro8\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003Cinput data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_id\u0022 value=\u0022modal_form_example_modal_form\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003C\/form\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E","dialogOptions":{"width":"800","modal":true,"title":"Republish this content"}}]