Science suitable for children: ‘We lacked it until now’

A double pack of fresh, radiant laughter greets us when we meet Miso and Julia. They are both young, early twenties, tough, in the middle of their studies – and ideal for “FÄKT”. The ÖAW project conveys scientific topics from local researchers in short, cheeky videos for use at school or in ‘shorts’ on social media such as TikTok, Instagram and Co.

Miso was born in Lower Austria and in addition to studying psychology in Vienna, she does modeling and acting. “FÄKT is a great format to bring knowledge and facts about a wide range of research areas to young people and those who are young at heart and eager to learn – in a tangible, understandable and modern way,” she explains to us.

“I just think the project is great and super important,” says Miso. “Not only can I help transfer knowledge to others, but at the same time I also learn many new things myself.”

Co-presenter Julia can only agree: “I love how we can pass on knowledge to children and young people through social media and schools. It’s a lot of fun and we’re always learning something new.”

“I think,” says Julia, “that ‘FÄKT’ perfectly reflects the test of time, which was still missing in Austrian science communication.”

The Upper Austrian journalism student was on stage as a child and already has a lot of experience in the TV and media sector. She loves being part of “FÄKT”: “Cool shoots, interesting topics, great interview partners – who wouldn’t want to be there?”

For Julia, the video recordings were “full of new insights” – especially the fact that even after finishing high school you are not done learning: “Whether it is about glaciers or sleep, every time the researchers are able to give me new food for thought.”

And despite long filming days, “our team has never lost the fun and motivation,” says the Upper Austrian. It was also exciting to visit the universities and workplaces of the individual scientists: “You don’t see that every day in real life.”

Miso especially likes it on the bigger filming days, “when we are in direct contact with the researchers – it just makes the science accessible.”

Of course we want to know which scientist the girls generally think is the coolest? “If I had to choose, I would say Marie Curie,” says Miso.

“Not just because we are united by our name, but because she was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize and the only person to be honored in two different scientific disciplines – physics and chemistry – and made groundbreaking contributions to radioactivity,” she explains .

Who is cool
Julia simply cannot choose between the researchers previously represented at ‘FÄKT’ – and if she had to choose, she would choose the tried and tested: ‘In general, I would say Albert Einstein. I mean, everyone knows him! That’s really cool.”

As a scientist, the Upper Austrian himself relied on words: “I love languages. I just find it fascinating that we all talk differently. So I would probably research dialects or the history of languages.”

Devotion to the soul
Miso, on the other hand, if she were a scientist herself, would focus on psychology: “the study of how mental health develops from childhood to adulthood.”

“My goal would be to understand what factors during childhood influence the mental health trajectory so that I can develop targeted prevention and intervention strategies,” Miso explains.

Ambitious goals that the two girls have! One can only hope that many of our descendants will learn something from the curiosity, interest and motivation of the two in the ‘FÄKT’ videos.