The National Museum of Natural History, Sofia took part in the Sofia Science Festival

This year, the Sofia Science Festival took place in the Sofia Tech Park in its traditional four-day format from 9th to 12th of May, 2024, and once again brought together representatives of the scientific community from the country and abroad.

The program of the National Museum of Natural History, Sofia was dedicated to the museum’s 135th anniversary and included an informational stand and presentations from museum scientists and researchers on the festival stage.

Sen. Assist. Dr Violeta Zhelyazkova discussed the world’s first scientific study which connects physiological features of bats with specific properties of their antibodies and whether it can be used for the development of treatments for humans in her presentation “Bats Like It Hot.”

“The Little Big Dinosaur” was presented by Assist. Vladimir Nikolov, who works in collaboration with international dinosaur expert Prof. Stephen Brusatte and Assoc. Prof. Docho Dochev (Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”) and examined the fossil of a hadrosauroid found in 1985 in the Labirinta cave. The mystery that scientists are trying to solve is whether it was a young dinosaur or a small adult individual.

The stand of the National Museum of Natural History, Sofia offer products with a cause, including the new issue of NMNHS — a book “Dragonflies of Bulgaria” by Dr Milen Marinov, “Titans’ Song: A Story of Dinosaurs” by Vladimir Nikolov, and “While Larks Sing” by Nikolay Boev, as well as other merchandise with the museum’s logo.

The income from these sales goes towards support for the palaeontological expeditions near the town of Tran and the ornithological research of the Durankulak Bird Ringing Camp.