Science Festival School (SFS) received its name from the Science Festival in Warsaw. The aim of the Science Festival is to reduce the gap between science and society in Poland. Series of science-related activities, open and free to the public, take place during the two Festival weeks in September. Almost all of Warsaw’s sciences, science-related and artistic institutions organize workshops, exhibitions, lectures, various performances and excursions. During the last seven years, the Festival has attracted an increasing amount of people, reaching 60 000 visitors per year.

The founders of the Science Festival School decided to spread the idea and activities of the Festival through the whole year as the first full-time biology popularisation institution in Poland. The International Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology in Warsaw (IIMCB), Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics PAS (IBB PAS), Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology PAS (NIEB) and the Science Festival itself signed a special agreement on October 1^st, 2002 establishing the Science Festival School [1]. Later, The Warsaw Agricultural University joined the founders’ committee. Although the Science Festival involves all sciences, the Science Festival School focuses on molecular biology and genetics.

The aims of the SFS as specified in the Agreement are:

• Conducting Educational activities popularizing the theme of biology in Poland by organizing open lectures, workshops for students and all interested people, courses for biology teachers, and exhibitions.

Improving biology education and awareness of biology in society [1].

SFS acquires a professionally equipped laboratory and good technical and science support from the founders’ institutes and through the supervision of the Science Committee. The School’s office and administration are located at IIMCB while laboratories are at IIMCB and Warsaw Agricultural University. Outstanding professors from the founder’s institutes serve on the Science Committee: Jerzy Duszyński, Jacek Kuźnicki, Magdalena Fikus, Halina Wędrychowicz, and Włodzimierz Zagórski-Ostoja. The Institutes and sponsors finance the School and supply chemicals and equipment needed in the School’s activities. During the school year 2003/2004 SFS’s sponsors were: Fermentas, MP Biomedicals, Scie-Plas and Symbios. An important media partner is the biggest Polish daily newspaper, Gazeta Wyborcza (with science popularizing initiatives “Akademia Szkoły z Klasą” and “Wolontariat Studencki” in which SFS takes place). The British Council, Nowa Era publisher, Radio Bis with Science Picnic and DANA Foundation (with International Brain’s Week) are regular partners. To be in touch with society, SFS takes part in all events popularizing science, such as the Science Festival, Science Picnic and Celebrating the DNA50’ with the British Council. Collaboration with the National Centre for Biotechnology Education at the University of Reading, who are SFS’s great friends, has resulted in many successful projects such as the adaptation of the “kitchen laboratory” curricula to Polish textbooks for teachers and schools.

SFS now has several persons, who are scientists from Institutes and Universities and biology students, creating the programme and conducting the workshops.

SFS during the school year regularly organizes workshops in its professionally equipped laboratories. Participants, who are mostly high-school students, apply laboratory equipment, techniques and real-live experiments. The practical experiments are supported by lectures presenting the theoretical basis of molecular biology, genetics and its techniques. The workshops last about 6 hours during one day and cover topics such as examining DNA by PCR methods, bacterial transformation, gene cloning, protein fingerprinting or molecular diagnosis. The group leaders, always two or three in the room, are available to answer questions and to help in laboratory practice.

Most of the participants are school groups but anyone can participate by making an application and solving an on-line biology test. Since the beginning of this activity, SFS has hosted over 1000 participants (see table 1.). Among them were groups of Warsaw Technical University students and finalists of Polish Biology Olympiad who advanced to the international final.

Besides teaching laboratory practice, SFS tries to present theoretical issues of modern biology. Every two weeks open lectures on molecular biology are organized, given by top Polish scientists. The lectures are accessible to anyone with a basic knowledge of biology. Some topics popular in media like genomics, evolution controversies, genetic diseases or genetically modified organisms bring huge audiences. But also more specific themes relative to gene expression regulation, immunology and the theory of evolution are in the center of interest for young students and biology teachers. On average, the lectures attract over 100 listeners.

A programme to train biology teachers was started in response to a big interest among the schools. The first four-day course prepared in collaboration with Teachers Excellence Center in Warsaw ended with great applause. The participants not only had a chance to learn how to use modern laboratory equipment and molecular techniques, but also how to make some “kitchen biology experiments “ that can be easily implemented in the classroom. Therefore from its second year, SFS started offering such courses regularly. The SFS laboratory entertained 40 teachers from Warsaw high schools and decided to spread the idea to the whole country. Through the support of Gazeta Wyborcza, SFS organized 5 weekend meetings at Teachers Excellence Centers throughout the country. In cooperation with the publisher of Nowa Era, one-day workshops on kitchen laboratory methods were organized in the 10 biggest cities.

Finally SFS was the main organizer of workshops for biology teachers in Warsaw, coordinated by European Molecular Biology Organization. This event was one of nine in Europe financed by the European Union as a part of the project “Continuing Education for European Biology Teachers”. A total of 74 teachers from all over the country (21 from Warsaw) and 3 from the Ukraine participated in a four-day workshop, 17-20 June 2004.

To complete these activities designed for teachers, SFS in cooperation with EU Centre of Excellence at NIEB (BRAINS) organizes one-day conferences for teachers each year.

As Table 1 shows, the first year was devoted to student workshops primarily targeting the Warsaw area. During the 2^nd year SFS developed and changed its profile to focus on teachers and to cover the whole country. Training teachers has greater impact and better possibilities for improving biology education in schools.

From the popularity of the SFS, it is now recognized that such activities are necessary and expected in Polish society. Biology, especially molecular biology, is a quickly developing domain of science. Therefore contact between scientists and society is essential. School education in Poland is still encyclopedic and theoretical, not experimental. But lack of money and education system problems cannot stand in the way of development and improving of biology education. We are obligated to make biology education more interesting, inspiring and to deal with real life.

Attendance at the SFS inspires young students to engage in science and inspires teachers to practice new ways of teaching. The opportunity to make the workshops is rewarding not only for its participants but also for SFS members – young scientists creating and conducting the lessons. It gives life experience, practice in laboratory and schoolwork, and produces professional excellence and great satisfaction.

Through cooperation with institutions such as the British Council, EMBO or NCBE, SFS is open for European and worldwide educational initiatives. Adaptation of their experiences to Polish conditions is not only possible but also necessary for future development of Polish science.