Engaging with research: RAISE laboratories thanks to Festival della Scienza
During the RAISE project, within the framework of Spoke 5, new experiences were developed in collaboration with the Festival della Scienza to engage citizens – particularly families and schools – in research on robotics and AI and, more broadly, on the topics addressed by RAISE.
RAISE researchers, with the support of the Associazione Festival della Scienza team and its science facilitators, worked on designing and implementing engaging activities presented during the RAISE Village editions of 2023, 2024, and 2025.
While the first edition in 2023 mainly presented the project’s objectives and activities that were still in their early stages, by 2025 the laboratories had become increasingly interactive and represented an opportunity to showcase the project’s results in a simple and engaging way.
Another event that fostered dialogue between researchers and the public through hands-on activities was Robot Valley, in its 2024 and 2025 editions.
The public consistently responded with great interest and participation, especially schools and families: all the laboratories related to RAISE topics were fully booked.
As also highlighted by a pilot study conducted in 2024 with visitors by Spoke 5 (Patrizia Schettino, Grazia Biorci, Adriana Ferrari, Ilaria Schizzi), and thanks to the support of the Festival della Scienza facilitators, these laboratories managed to inspire participants ranging from 5 to over 80 years old. Participants had the opportunity, for example, to interact with a social robot for the first time or to better understand the applications of robotics and artificial intelligence in fields such as medicine, port security, and environmental protection through eco-robotics.
On the occasion of the latest RAISE Village 2025, Andrea Sessarego (Associazione Festival della Scienza, Spoke 5) commented: “The activities were a great success and were highly appreciated by schools, which began to learn about the RAISE project during the 2023 Festival. In 2023 it was an opportunity to introduce the project to citizens; now we are reaching the end of the journey, during which students, families, and citizens have been able to test first-hand, through laboratory activities, what RAISE has produced and continues to produce.”
The RAISE educational laboratories represent an example of how the ecosystem successfully brought together researchers and the public, offering meaningful engagement opportunities for citizens thanks to the extensive experience of the Associazione Festival della Scienza team: from supporting the design of educational activities to leading the laboratories on site during the days of RAISE Village and Robot Valley, from 2023 to 2025.
