The workplace of the Earth Science Institute in Banská Bystrica opened their premises for visitors on November 11, 2015 at nine o’clock. As first, the head of the workplace Radovan Kyška-Pipík welcomed the guests and briefly informed them about the actual research and laboratories. Subsequently, Jana Rigová, Hana Demeterová and Alžbeta Svitáčová showed the workplace to groups of pupils. The actual research was presented directly in the laboratories by Rastislav Milovský (Laboratory of Isotope and Organic Geochemistry), Stanislava Milovská (Laboratory of Vibration Spectroscopy), Nataša Halašiová (Laboratory of Electron Microscopy), Adrian Biroň (Laboratory of X-ray Powder Diffraction Analysis), Tomáš Mikuš (Laboratory of Electron Microanalysis), Juraj Šurka (Laboratory of Computer Tomography), Jarmila Luptáková (Laboratory of Geofluids and Microthermometry), Dana Troppová and Iveta Ivaničová (Laboratory of Mineral Separation and Sample Preparation).

Other groups of visitors surveyed a small exhibition of fossils, rocks, minerals, gems as well as of grinding tools and tried to work with geological microscope. Accompanied by Zuzana Pulišová, Pavol Záhorec and Juraj Šurka, they became familiar with principles of gravimeter that serves to discover subsurface areas and saw a swimming platform equipped with sonar to study lacustrine sediments. Other groups together with Ľubica Luhová watched geologically-themed movies.

The last visitors left around at 5 p.m., whereby in total about 90 pupils from elementary schools and other guests from Banská Bystrica, Zvolen and Krupina visited us.

Others interested are welcome again next year.

Text: J. Luptáková
Photo: J. Luptáková, J. Rigová
Translated by M. Vďačný