On 24 September and 9 October 2018, 10 grade students of the Dubna Lyceum #6 visited the JINR Laboratory of Information Technologies and the Laboratory of Radiation Biology.

LIT engineer Igor Pelevanyuk told the young visitors how computers help to process large volumes of data obtained in modern experiments, showed them computer exhibits considered as part of the history according to modern standards, and guided a tour of the Multifunctional Information and Computing Complex.

Arina Denikina (10 grade student): I was excited to see ancient computers and learn how they have evolved. And it’s so great to realise that now things are much simplier: everyone has a powerful mini-computer in his pockets!

Introduction to the JINR fields of research was continued in the Laboratory of Radiation Biology where Yuri Severyukhin told the guests about the goals and methods of studying the behavioral reactions of rodents exposed to ionizing radiation. Anton Ryumin introduced to the students another interesting area of research of the Institute – astrobiology. He told the children about the main theories on the origin of life on the Earth, showed them an electron microscope, and explained how LRB scientists use it to study samples of meteorites.

Sergey Burov (10 grade student): In LRB, I saw a vivarium for rodents as well as the equipment designed to study the behavior of healthy and irradiated animals. We were also shown pictures of meteorites interspersed with fossilised protozoan organisms. Life is flying to us from the far space!

Relevant subjects studied by the children are Biology, Chemistry, and IT. Thus, the excursion to the JINR laboratories not only showed how to apply the acquired knowledge in practice, but also served the purpose of career guidance.