At least half of the 101 featured events will be prepared by students of master's and PhD study programmes as well as high-school students, said Edvard Kobal, head of the Slovenian Science Foundation, the main organiser of the event.

This year, the festival will be held at the Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology and the Institute of Chemistry.

"We want the participants to use the festival as one of the first venues where they can promote themselves and hold a public presentation of their achievements," said Kobal.

The Institute of Chemistry will host workshops and experiments related to the basics of chemistry, complex physical phenomena and biotechnology.

Schoolchildren visiting the festival will also be able to attend guided tours of the institute's laboratories, said Mateja Manček Keber, a researcher at the institute.

Meanwhile, the Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology will showcase students' achievements and hold lectures on chemistry, physics and important scientific discoveries, said Krištof Kranjc, an associate professor at the faculty.

He added that the faculty wished to attract youths who were rhinking about what to study or which profession to choose and encourage them to pursue science.

This year's festival will honour the life, work and achievements of Slovenian modern chemistry pioneer Maks Samec (1881-1964), first Slovenian geologist Marko Vincenc Lipold (1816-1883) and cartographer Žiga Herberstein (1486-1566).

Two photo exhibitions will also be held as part of the festival, one on Mercury's transit across the Sun, which occured this year in May, and the other on the work of scientist Pavle Kunaver (1889-1988).

The honorary sponsor of this year's festival is the president of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts (SAZU), Tadej Bajd.