On September 21, ITMO University hosted an annual scientific and educational event for school students, their parents, and teachers in celebration of Russia’s Physics Day. The festival took place at two ITMO campuses and drew over 700 participants. Here are the highlights.

_{Physics Day 2025. Photo by Dmitry Grigoryev / ITMO NEWS}

For the third year in a row, ITMO University organizes Physics Day in St. Petersburg to enthuse school students with physics and engineering sciences. This year, the event was held at two locations: ITMO’s campuses on Lomonosova St. and Birzhevaya Liniya. 

The program included scientific and educational lectures, quizzes, and a scientific show with experiments. The talks covered a range of topics, from the fundamentals of quantum physics and wireless power transfer to the latest Nobel Prize-winning projects and the quest for new particles in space. Scientists also discussed the similarities between physicists, chemists, and biologists, as well as shared their experience of founding a center of engineering developments. Participants could test their knowledge by competing in physics quizzes, spelling tests, and hackathons on quantum computing and astrophysics. Senior students also had the chance to practice competition problems, take sample Basic State Exam (BSE) and Unified State Exam (USE) tests, get acquainted with ITMO’s physics-focused programs, and obtain admissions guidance.

_{Photo by Dmitry Grigoryev / ITMO NEWS}

Participants in the workshop by the Institute of Laser Technologies created paintings with lasers or laser brushes, as well as made mementos – pens, keychains, or popsockets – featuring laser engravings of their own designs. They also visited the Heritage Science Lab and the Museum of Optics; there, they learned about the characteristics of glass, mirrors, and cameras, as well as holograms, lighting devices, and the history of optics. There were several exciting activities for teachers, as well – lectures and visits to ITMO's research and educational laboratories.

_{Photo by Dmitry Grigoryev / ITMO NEWS}

In addition, ITMO and Ioffe Institute gave students of Gazprom School and School No. 10  a tour of the Ferroics Physics Laboratory to observe a tokamak – a device that controls thermonuclear fusion.

“In the fifth or sixth grade, children start to exhibit interest in natural sciences, and it’s our responsibility to encourage this curiosity through pop-sci events, experiments, and workshops. Events like Physics Day help us show that physics is enjoyable and beautiful. Furthermore, it's an excellent opportunity for us to attract more talents who plan to pursue physics in the future. At ITMO, they can reach their full potential in virtually all branches of contemporary physics by dealing with both fundamental and applied tasks under the guidance of our industrial partners,” says Yana Muzychenko, the deputy head of ITMO’s School of Physics and Engineering. 

_{Yana Muzychenko. Photo by Dmitry Grigoryev / ITMO NEWS}

The event attracted 658 participants, including school students and teachers from St. Petersburg’s top tech schools: Presidential Physics and Mathematics Lyceum No. 239, Governor's Lyceum No. 30, Physics and Technology School, Engineering and Technology School No. 777, Anichkov Lyceum, and Lyceum No. 533.

Physics Day in Russia originated in 2023 at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology. It is organized as part of the federal project Physics for Everyone and supported by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Science and Higher Education.

In 2025, the festival spanned over 19 cities: St. Petersburg, Moscow, Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk, Nizhny Novgorod, and others. ITMO was one of the two venues for Physics Day in St. Petersburg. Over the course of a week, students studied physics, mathematics, and engineering sciences – first at their schools and lyceums and then, on Sunday, at partner universities.