^{Photo: Amy van Leiden}

Vuurvliegen
C3, in collaboration with Lyondell Basell, organises the exciting science battle ‘Vuurvliegen Rotterdam’, in which primary school pupils decide which researcher is best at communicating their research. The idea behind this is that anyone who can explain their research to a nine-year-old can explain it to anyone. By taking part in Vuurvliegen, researchers learn to present their work clearly and convincingly. At the same time, children discover what a researcher in chemistry or the life sciences does.
During this tenth edition, five researchers pitched their research to upper-year primary school pupils. The children voted on who gave the best presentation and thus chose Rotterdam’s ‘Vuurvlieg’.

Participating scientists
The nominated scientists and their research:

• Esther Spruit is conducting research at Delft University of Technology into the production and separation of medical radionuclides, with the aim of contributing to new treatments and increasing access to radionuclide therapy.
• Ceyda Ilhan is conducting research at Erasmus MC into ethnic and gender differences in the stress response and their relationship to the risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease, with the aim of improving healthcare.
• Christine Visser is conducting research at Delft University of Technology into the development of strong, elastic and sustainable biomaterials that help skin cells to heal wounds more quickly.
• Anneke Kastelein is conducting research at the LUMC into how the time of day influences the effectiveness of chemotherapy, with the aim of better tailoring treatments to the patient’s biological clock.
• Jetske Stoop is conducting research at Erasmus MC into how music can contribute to the recovery of hospital patients, for example by reducing pain, anxiety and stress and improving sleep.

Centre for Youth Communication in Chemistry (C3)
C3 introduces children and young people to chemistry, life sciences and process engineering so that they can discover their talents and make informed choices about their future. C3 organises the EOES and Bèta Tournament lab competitions for school pupils, and the Woudschoten Chemistry Conference for chemistry education. In addition, C3 manages the student platform exactwatjezoekt.nl, which provides support with learning and guidance on degree programmes and careers in science and technology.