European Researchers’ Night 2025 is back in Braga!

On Friday, September 26, 2025, from 2:00 p.m. until midnight, the Forum Braga will come alive with experiments, performances, and conversations as the European Researchers’ Night (ERN) makes its return, organised locally by Iberian International Nanotechnology Laboratory (INL) and Escola de Ciências da Universidade do Minho.

INL alone will feature more than 30 research initiatives, transforming complex science into an immersive experience designed for all ages.

Science action at the INL Booth

The INL Booth will offer visitors the chance to explore the many ways nanoscience and technology intersect with daily life.

In “Fighting Water Pollution Through Monitoring”, participants will discover how plastics and other pollutants travel through oceans and rivers, and how monitoring devices combined with nature-based solutions can help reduce contamination carried by stormwater. “Cutting Ice with Graphene” will demonstrate the surprising ability of ultra-thin graphene and graphite foils to slice through ice without the need for sharp tools, showcasing one of the many astonishing properties of this wonder material. The “Transistor Demonstration” will bring electronics down to earth, explaining what transistors are, how they work, and why they remain the building blocks of modern technology.

In “Crafting the Microworld”, visitors will dive into the art of magnetic patterning through a mix of video and hands-on experiments, revealing the hidden structures that shape our microscopic reality. Microfluidics will take the spotlight in “Deterministic Lateral Displacement”, where tiny spherical particles of different sizes will be sorted in real time, showing how researchers use fluid channels to separate matter with surgical precision. Biology lovers can join “The Journey of Vesicles”, a playful board game that traces how extracellular vesicles move through the human body, uncovering curious facts about their role in health and disease.

Physics and curiosity collide in “What is Light Made Of? Particles or Waves?”, where counter-intuitive demonstrations of quantum mechanics, powered by an online simulator, challenge what we think we know about light. At “When Light Meets Sound”, families will experiment with lasers, lenses, and sound waves to create patterns and vibrations, from DIY Chladni plates to light-based effects. Finally, the “Human STM” turns the audience into part of the experiment, simulating how a Scanning Tunneling Microscope works, using their own bodies to replicate the movements of this revolutionary nanotech tool.

EU corner

In parallel, the EU Corner will highlight the crucial role of European Union funding in supporting INL’s research. Visitors will see how international collaboration powers local innovation, connecting INL laboratories to a global network of knowledge and resources.

The Stage Programme

As evening arrives, the stage programme will merge science with culture in an engaging lineup. At 20:30, the Nano Circus will take audiences on a creative journey where circus arts meet nanoscience. Born from a collaboration between INL and the Equilibrium Social Circus, the performance grew out of a residency where teenage circus artists explored nanoscience while sharing their talents with researchers. The result is a one-of-a-kind show that blends art and science into an accessible, transformative performance.

At 21:00, the Nano Quiz will bring the wonders of the nano-world to the audience in a lighthearted challenge. Designed to test knowledge while sparking curiosity, it transforms learning into a shared game for all ages.

By 22:00, science will give way to music with the debut performance of Rejected Grants, INL’s own band. Born from the creativity of researchers who turned the frustrations of failed proposals into music, the band brings together colleagues from across nationalities and scientific fields to celebrate diversity and the human side of research.

The night will close with the INL x Braga 25 Roundtable (22:45–23:45), an open dialogue on the intersections of science, art, and society. In a relaxed setting, the panel, which includes invited artists Catarina Braga and Miguel Teodoro, will share perspectives on how knowledge and creativity can build a more critical, participatory, and imaginative society. The roundtable will also invite the public into the conversation, encouraging new ways of seeing, thinking, and co-creating solutions for today’s challenges.

The INL Photo Gallery will complete the space, inviting visitors to explore how research at INL can be so beautiful that microscopic images from INL researchers are turned into a gallery of art.

Since its creation by the European Commission in 2005, the European Researchers’ Night has brought science closer to citizens, showing its relevance to daily life and inspiring new generations of innovators. The 2025 edition in Braga continues this mission, with the University of Minho and INL at the helm. The programme promises a rich, hands-on journey into the worlds of physics, chemistry, biology, and beyond. For one afternoon and night, science will step out of the lab and into the city, reminding everyone that discovery is not reserved for specialists; it is a shared adventure that belongs to us all.