The Abu Dhabi Technology Development Committee unveils a collection of activities for the 2nd Annual Abu Dhabi Science Festival

Ever wonder how a T-Rex moved, how science makes sporting champions, how mysteries, ancient and modern are solved, or how to save the planet? Visitors to the 2012 Abu Dhabi Science Festival can discover the answers to these questions and more.

With an additional two days, this year's event will offer an even more exhilarating variety of best-in-class science experiences guaranteed to spark the youth's curiosity and build aspirations in Science, Technology and Innovation (STI), and support the development of a world-class talent base in the Emirate.

Building on the overwhelming success of its first edition in 2011, the Abu Dhabi Science Festival is returning in 2012 with new attractions in areas such as robotics (a life-sized roaming T-Rex Animatronic Dinosaur), an impressive presentation of electricity (Dr Megavolt), chemistry with plenty of explosions (Bigger Bang Show), and arts & science with bubbles moving to music (Pep Bou).

Designed to offer fun while helping visitors better recognize and understand how science influences our daily lives, the festival also provides a practical experience with age-appropriate hands-on workshops, allowing visitors to 'experience the science'. Some of these workshops include: tasting what astronauts eat in space, experiencing G-force, making a camera from a biscuit tin, seeing what liquid nitrogen does to a banana, and the literally hair-raising experience of static electricity. The festival will also see the return of many of last year's favourites, such as Dig up a Dinosaur and the Emergency Room.

H.E. Ahmed Al Calily, Director General of TDC, the organizers of the festival said "The Abu Dhabi Science Festival promises to be even bigger and more exhilarating than before. For those who missed out last year there is the opportunity to see what all the excitement was about, but we have also refreshed the content which offers those that attended last year something new."

H.E. Al Calily continued: "With an addition of 20% more floor space at the National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC), one of the two main locations of the festival, we will continue to offer a hugely diverse offering of engaging experiences in the Corniche of Abu Dhabi as well. This will also allow us to welcome over 20,000 students visiting with organized school tours. In addition, this year's festival will achieve community wide engagement in the Emirate by extending its exciting experiences to audiences in several malls in Abu Dhabi (Al Wahda and Mushrif Malls), Al Ain (Al Ain Mall) and Al Gharbiyah (City Mall)".
In organizing this Emirate-wide festival, TDC continues its collaboration with the Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC) as the festival's Education Partner. The collaboration with ADEC further ensures close alignment with Abu Dhabi's education reforms, as well as the engagement of Abu Dhabi's school children and the education community. H.E. Dr Mugheer Khamis Al Khaili, Director General of Abu Dhabi Education Council, said that such events are important for improving student skills and strengthening their talents by providing world-class opportunities in academic and ICT areas.

"ADEC seeks to create an attractive learning environment that helps our students develop their creative and critical thinking skills," Dr Al Khaili added.

The Abu Dhabi Science Festival gives young learners the chance to engage in various research activities and experiments, the Director General pointed out.

"Last year's event received positive feedback from students, who actively participated in its wide range of activities. This comes in line with ADEC strategic plans aiming at implementing a student-center approach that would graduate a knowledgeable and skillful generation that is capable of contributing to the socio-economic development," Dr Al Khaili concluded.

During ADSF 2011 one of the resounding successes was the contribution made by over 500 Science Communicators delivering the festival in an engaging manner. This year TDC has partnered with eight universities which will provide 30% more Science Communicators to facilitate the larger and longer festival. These universities include The Abu Dhabi University (ADU), AlHosn University (AU), Emirates College for Advanced Education (ECAE), Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT), Khalifa University (KU), The Petroleum Institute (PI), United Arab Emirates University (UAEU), and Zayed University (ZU). The students selected from these universities will have a unique opportunity to acquire critical skills including communication and team work through training by leaders in the field and participation in delivering the festival to help the visitors make the most of their experience.

The Abu Dhabi Science Festival is organized by TDC in partnership with the Abu Dhabi Education Council as Education Partner, Edinburgh International Science Festival as Programming Partner, Tawazun as Presenting Sponsor, Dolphin Energy as Main Sponsor, in affiliation with ADNOC, Etihad Airways, Total and Masdar, and produced by Flash Entertainment.

Tawazun Holding, an investment firm focused on the long-term development of Abu Dhabi's industrial manufacturing and technology capabilities, is supporting the Abu Dhabi Science Festival as Presenting Sponsor for the second year. Tawazun's CEO H.E. Saif Mohamed Al

Hajeri said that the UAE is quietly but steadily, establishing itself as a global player in the area of strategic manufacturing. "In order for us to support the government's vision in making the UAE one of the leading world economies, we require a generation of young professionals that are armed with the skills to meet the nation's needs of emerging industries. Tawazun's role during the festival will allow us to encourage visitors to learn how developments in science play an integral part of Tawazun's operations, its future plans and the UAE's overall growth".

Main Sponsor Dolphin Energy, the company behind the Dolphin Gas Project - a unique strategic energy initiative which has been supplying increasing quantities of natural gas from offshore Qatar to the United Arab Emirates since July 2007, is also participating for the second year.

Dolphin Energy's General Manager - UAE, Mr Ibrahim Ahmed Al Ansaari, explained, "As a company that recognizes the role technology and innovation play in delivering success, Dolphin Energy is delighted to be involved in this year's Abu Dhabi Science Festival. Education is a key pillar to the future of Abu Dhabi and we are always keen to support initiatives designed to unlock the potential of today's youth".

The Abu Dhabi Science Festival is once again collaborating with the Edinburgh International Science Festival (EISF) as its Programming Partner.

Dr Simon Gage, Director and CEO of the EISF, commented: "We are proud to be part of this inspirational investment in the children of Abu Dhabi. The 2011 Abu Dhabi Science Festival was a spectacular world-beater and once again, the best and most popular science workshops, exhibitions and shows are brought to life with the help of 800 enthusiastic local students making the 2012 festival bigger and better. Edinburgh International Science Festival is the world's first science festival and will be the programming partner again this year, as well as showcasing many of its own extraordinary events."