To mark the 30th anniversary of the founding of Quark magazine, a popularization event for elementary and high school students from across the region of East Slovakia was held at Botanical Garden of UPJŠ in Košice on Monday, November 3, 2025. It is the only original Slovak popular scientific magazine about science and technology that successfully popularizes scientific knowledge and discoveries in an understandable form accessible to the public.
Forty students from four high schools and forty fifth-grade pupils from four elementary schools, accompanied by their teachers, were welcomed in the Botanical Garden by the director, Prof. RNDr. Pavol Mártonfi, PhD. Information about Quark magazine and its importance for the popularization of science in Slovakia was provided by its editor-in-chief, Mgr. Renáta Józsová.
After dividing the participants of the popularization event into groups, they all attended four 30-minute workshops on interesting topics:
▪ The World of Artificial Intelligence, led by Ing. Jana Matejíčková, former editor-in-chief of Quark magazine.
▪ The Infinite Universe Full of Mysteries, led by Mgr. Martin Vaňko, PhD. from the Astronomical Institute of the Slovak Academy of Sciences.
▪ The Mysterious Prehistory of Animals, led by doc. RNDr. Martin Kundrát, PhD., university professor, head of the Center for Integrative Paleobiology (INPAL) at Technology and Innovation Park at UPJŠ in Košice.
▪ The Blooming Kingdom of Plants, led by RNDr. Andrea Fridmanová, PhD., deputy director of the Botanical Garden and head of the department of educational activities and development of the Botanical Garden, and RNDr. Martin Pizňak, PhD., specialist at the UPJŠ Botanical Garden.
In the afternoon, Mgr. Renáta Józsová, editor-in-chief of Quark magazine, and Ing. Jana Matejíčková, former long-time editor-in-chief of the magazine, were received by Dr. h. c. prof. Mgr. Slávka Tomaščíková, PhD., Vice-Rector for International Relations, in the Šafárik Chamber at Rectorate of UPJŠ in Košice, with the participation of doc. RNDr. Martin Kundrát, PhD., university professor.
During the meeting, they discussed the importance of science and the popularization of science for the public, to which Quark magazine contributes significantly. Vice-Rector Tomaščíková presented the editors-in-chief of the magazine with letters of appreciation and asked them to sign the guest book.
