The venus flytrap snaps shut (again)

Ball 2025, General

A reunion with an old friend that already decorated the tables at the first Science Ball in 2015: the Venus flytrap.

From the outside it looks harmless. Delicate, almost innocent. Like a leaf with braces, an alien smile in green. But beware if someone is careless. Then it clicks. Then it snaps shut. And while you are still amazed, it has already snapped shut – bang, game over. The Venus flytrap, botanically correct Dionaea muscipula, is a plant and a hunter, an ornament and a killer at the same time. And, as luck would have it, this year it is (again) a table decoration at the Vienna Science Ball. Continue reading The venus flytrap snaps shut (again) →

Clear the Stage for Donna Savage

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© fckthatsspicy

A rapper who lives between “street filth and Beverly Hills”. With sharp lines, social criticism and an unagitated style, Donna Savage is conquering the German rap scene: she studies, lives art and asks herself questions that others would rather not ask. In her sound, anger meets reflection – and opens up space for change. This will be the case at #SciBall25 at 1:00 a.m. when she performs at the disco. Continue reading Clear the Stage for Donna Savage →

The voice that breaks all chains

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La Ledoux / Photo: Wolf-Dieter Grabner

Katia Ledoux is the sensation of the season. The opera singer is a guest at the Science Ball for the first time. And she exceeds all expectations here too.

It is an evening that will go down in the annals of opera. Wiener Volksoper, February 1, 2023: Katia Ledoux is on stage, unlike planned. The 32-year-old mezzo-soprano is supposed to play Venus in Jacques Offenbach’s “Orpheus in the Underworld”. Just Venus. Just her role. But when Orpheus and his understudy both fall ill, Ledoux takes on both parts – mezzo-soprano and tenor, femininity and masculinity, goddess and human. Without rehearsal, straight into the spotlight. The next day, the world is talking about her. Not only in Vienna, not only in opera circles. Everywhere. Women singing male roles? It happens, but it’s rare. Continue reading The voice that breaks all chains →

Discovery at the anniversary

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Maestro Vinzenz Praxmarer with soloist Anne Wieben at the ball 2020 / Photo: R. Ferrigato

Johann Strauss the younger is a classic of popular music and therefore a must at every Viennese ball. Especially in the anniversary year of his 200th birthday. But the Divertimento Viennese ball orchestra, under the direction of Vinzenz Praxmarer, will be offering not only the greatest hits such as the Blue Danube Waltz but also a special surprise as a ball overture: Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s “Straussiana” from 1953, a potpourri of rather unknown melodies by the Waltz King, which the composer masterfully condensed into a tribute. Continue reading Discovery at the anniversary →

A fanfare to the ball

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The MAK fanfare at the #SciBall24 / Photo: R. Ferrigato

The Music and Arts Private University of the City of Vienna (MUK for short) has accompanied the Science Ball from the very beginning. And this is to be understood literally. Every year, students specially compose fanfares which form the prelude to the opening. Student Laura Oos (born 2003) has composed a “Fanfare for the Scientists” especially for this year’s anniversary, which will be performed by students from the Jazz, Wind Instruments and Percussion departments under the direction of the composer. And that’s not all. At midnight, Alexandra Danilova (soprano), Ghazal Kazemi (mezzo-soprano), Malo Peloffy (tenor) and Aleksandr Ivanov (bass) will accompany Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” with the Divertimento Viennese ball orchestra.

What does chance sound like?

Ball 2025, General

How does one make quantum entanglement resonate? A few young physicists and artists from Vienna have attempted exactly that. They call their project „Sounds of Entanglement.“ A show in which entangled photons take on the role of the conductor.

A report by Sebastian Lang

“Sounds of entanglement” in the Linz cathedral as opening act of the Ars Electronica festival / Photo: Ars Electronica

For a long time, physics was considered a realm of predictability. Everything neatly cast in formulas, a clockwork that one only needed to study long enough to fully understand the world. But then came quantum physics, along with chance. Suddenly, nothing was certain anymore. You can know a particle’s position or its velocity–but never both at the same time. Thanks to Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle. Einstein hated this, calling it „spooky action at a distance.“ Continue reading What does chance sound like? →

Saki the Artist: Art from upcycled lab plastics

Ball 2025, General

 

Saki the Artist in a self-sewn dress, primarily made of single-use gloves stitched together. ©SusiToma
Saki the Artist in a self-sewn dress, primarily made of single-use gloves stitched together. / Photo: Toma Susi

Saki the Artist believes that art has a job: to fight against waste. In her studio, leftovers from laboratories pile up like souvenirs of an industry that doesn’t think about tomorrow – pipettes, gloves, petri dishes. Things that would otherwise end up in black trash bags become dresses and installations. The artist, who moved from California to Vienna in 2023, combines her biotech past with creativity. It’s not about beauty for her. It’s about reimagining science in a more sustainable way. Continue reading Saki the Artist: Art from upcycled lab plastics →

Photo op with the axolotl

Ball 2025, General

Instagram-worthy species glamour at the Ball of Sciences. Beyond its significance for research, the subject holds a unique aesthetic allure that will be magnified on the evening of the ball.

The axolotl measures around 28 centimeters in average length, about the same as a golden hamster. It remains in its larval form throughout its life and reaches sexual maturity without the usual metamorphosis. / Photo: IMP-IMBA Graphics

The natural history collections of the Natural History Museum Vienna (NHM) are far more than mere exhibits. They are fragile time capsules, living laboratories, and places where the past, present, and future intertwine. With over 30 million objects, the NHM is a true archive of biodiversity and a source of inspiration for science and society. Here, nature is systematically recorded, its diversity documented, and the molecular signature of life deciphered. Every stone, every display case, and every specimen tells a story of the interplay between nature, science, and humanity. Continue reading Photo op with the axolotl →

Maja Göpel: Lots of positive vibes

Ball 2025
© Anja Weber

One thing we have realized in recent years is how important legitimizing narratives are for shaping social design and change. Science communication plays a central role if these narratives are to be supported by evidence. Particularly in times of upheaval, we see the temptation to ignore unpleasant changes in reality in order to offer known and simple solutions. Continue reading Maja Göpel: Lots of positive vibes →