Treasure Week – the mysterious world of minerals, fossils and meteorites!
Week #2 of 50 Weeks in the European City of Science 2024 organised within the European City of Science Katowice 2024 has ended! On this occasion, the Silesian University of Technology has prepared a number of attractions for everyone, regardless of age, from pre-schoolers to seniors. Participants had the chance to take part in workshops, shows and lectures; the event ended with the Exchange of Minerals, Rocks and Fossils.
Treasure Week took place between 8–14 January in Gliwice, Katowice, Sosnowiec and online. The curators of the Week were Ewa Głuszek, MSc Eng. and Prof. Eng. Małgorzata Labus from the Silesian University of Technology.
‘People associated with the Faculty of Mining, Safety Engineering and Industrial Automation of the Silesian University of Technology were involved in the organisation of Treasure Week.’ Therefore, when creating the program, we focused on the treasures of the earth – fossils, precious stones, metal ores used in modern technologies, up to space objects from which perhaps in the near future we will exploit the raw materials we need. We also wanted to show how important the help of surveyors is, who, based on the latest technologies, are able to prepare maps that allow you to discover the treasures of the Earth and beyond,’ said Ewa Głuszek, MSc Eng.
Scientists from the Faculty of Natural Sciences of the University of Silesia, the University of Economics and the Medical University of Silesia also joined the Treasure Week celebrations.
On the first day, we learnt about the work of a palaeontologist and took part in a demonstration lesson in the Museum of Earth Science of the University of Silesia in Sosnowiec. Apart from the geological insights, participants of Treasure Week had the chance to take part in workshops on the competencies of the future in the Municipal Business Incubator rawa.ink in Katowice.
The theme of the second day of Treasure Week was drones and geocaching, which concluded with a lecture on how to store energy.
‘We are having some fun here, through which we are moving towards science, because we want to familiarise young people with some of the basic principles of flying, but also to make them realise that this technology has a number of applications in many fields of science,’ says Aleksandra Mierzejowska, PhD Eng., from the Department of Geoengineering and Resource Exploitation; Faculty of Mining, Safety Engineering and Industrial Automation; Silesian University of Technology.
Outdoor game enthusiasts could listen to a lecture on geocaching, EarthCaches and searching for earth’s treasures during the lecture ‘Geocaching – treasure hunting game…’ by Paweł Woźniak, an employee of the Upper Silesian Branch of the State Geological Institute in Sosnowiec.
On Wednesday, Treasure Week participants learnt how to recognise minerals, how to tell apart a genuine gemstone from a fake, how to take care of health (our greatest treasure), and how to invest in precious metals.
The fourth day of Treasure Week was all about underground exploitation, but also the one in space. It ended with a meteorite exhibition. Participants learned how much one gram of a meteorite can cost and how old the oldest specimens are. It was all covered by Kazimierz Mazurek, one of the founders of the Polish Meteorite Society.
On Friday, we invited you to a lecture entitled ‘How much gold is in your smartphone? – the most valuable and expensive metals’ by Magdalena Kokowska-Pawłowska, PhD, DSc Eng., and Jacek Nowak, PhD Eng. from the Silesian University of Technology. The participants could also see a display of glowing minerals.
An interesting collection of fluorescent minerals was prepared by students from the Geologists’ Scientific Club “Silesian” of the Silesian University of Technology.
‘Minerals themselves are interesting, and—in my opinion—the most fascinating thing is that nature created such wonders,’ said Prof. Małgorzata Labus, scientific supervisor of the club.
The jewel in the crown of Treasure Week at the Silesian University of Technology was the Exchange of Minerals, Rocks and Fossils, which took place at the Faculty of Mining, Safety Engineering and Industrial Automation of the Silesian University of Technology.
During the weekend, the Silesian University of Technology also held lectures ‘Why the stars shine’ and ‘All the stars in the universe,’ delivered by Andrzej Boczarowski, PhD, from the University of Silesia.
The content is based on the article by Jolanta Skwaradowska published on the Silesian University of Technology website.
Related articles:
- Treasure Week in the City of Science
- ‘Treasure Week: Knowledge hidden in rocks, stones and fossils’ – article about research by Silesian scientists
- Report from Treasure Week on the website of the Silesian University of Technology
