USTANOVA HISA EKSPERIMENTOV

Their core work

Hiša eksperimentov (House of Experiments) is a science centre in Ljubljana, Slovenia, dedicated to public engagement with science through interactive exhibitions, science cafés, and participatory events. They are best known as the Slovenian organizer of European Researchers' Night (NOCMOC — "The Night has its Might"), which they have coordinated three consecutive times. Their core work bridges the gap between research communities and the general public through hands-on science communication, citizen science projects, and awareness-building activities across topics from nanotechnology to water science.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their early H2020 period (2014-2018), Hiša eksperimentov focused on broad public awareness themes — nanotechnology visualisation, exhibitions in science centres and museums, science cafés, and emerging topics like frugal innovation and open science. From 2018 onward, they narrowed their focus sharply toward researchers' careers, science communication, and citizen science through the recurring NOCMOC Researchers' Night format. The shift shows a move from being a participant in diverse pan-European awareness campaigns to becoming a dedicated national coordinator of researcher-public engagement events.

They are consolidating as Slovenia's primary organizer of European Researchers' Night with growing emphasis on citizen science — expect continued focus on researcher visibility and public participation formats.

How they like to work

They transitioned from a third-party contributor in larger pan-European consortia (SeeingNano, SPARKS) to a coordinator role in their own right with the NOCMOC series. Their 52 unique partners across 29 countries reflect the broad consortium structure typical of Researchers' Night projects, which involve many local event partners across Europe. This means they are experienced network builders for distributed public engagement events, though the partnerships are event-driven rather than deep technical collaborations.

With 52 partners across 29 countries, their network is wide but shaped by the Researchers' Night format, which brings together science centres, universities, and engagement organizations from across Europe. Their geographic reach is genuinely pan-European, with Slovenia as their operational base.

What sets them apart

Hiša eksperimentov is one of very few dedicated science centres in the Western Balkans/Southeast Europe region with a track record of coordinating EU-funded public engagement projects. Their repeated success in winning NOCMOC coordination grants shows the European Commission trusts them to deliver large-scale, multi-country researchers' night events. For anyone building a consortium that needs Slovenian public engagement or a science communication partner with grassroots reach to citizens, they are a proven choice.

Highlights from their portfolio

• NOCMOC
  Won coordination of Slovenia's European Researchers' Night three times in a row (2018-2021), demonstrating consistent trust from the EC and reliable delivery.
• SPARKS
  Pan-European project connecting science centres and museums around frugal innovation and open science — broader thematic scope than their usual researchers' night work.
• SeeingNano
  Their earliest H2020 involvement, focused on nanotechnology awareness through enhanced visualisation — shows capability beyond event coordination.