For the second year in a row, the NGO “Association Noosphere” took part in the Book Country festival, which was held from April 24 to 27 at the Expocenter of Ukraine (VDNG) in Kyiv. Together with Universe Space Tech magazine and the Ukraine Spacemodelling Sport Federation, Noosphere not only had a booth in the exhibition area but also hosted exciting activities for the festival’s youngest visitors.
At the book fair, Association Noosphere and Universe Space Tech showcased printed editions of the magazine, along with merchandise from the Noosphere Store. All proceeds from the sale of clothing, souvenirs, and books go toward supporting the organization’s social initiatives.
In collaboration with the Ukraine Spacemodelling Sport Federation, Noosphere also ran a series of hands-on workshops for children. With guidance from rocket modeling champions Oleksandr Radchenko and Mykhailo Dubrovnyi, kids learned how to build simple rocket models from scratch.
The workshops sparked great enthusiasm among children and parents alike. Every seat was filled, and extra chairs had to be brought in for those eager to take part. In total, four workshops gathered 108 young engineers — including children as young as five, who were helped by their parents. Younger siblings, not yet ready for cutting and gluing, kept busy coloring space-themed illustrations.
Many attendees expressed interest in pursuing rocket modeling beyond the festival. The athletes shared information about local extracurricular clubs and encouraged families to take part in the ongoing nationwide rocket modeling competitions. This year’s competition even includes a special category for beginners who want to try the sport for the first time.
Interestingly, it wasn’t just kids who wanted to join the workshops—plenty of adults were curious too. However, all the seats had already been snapped up by enthusiastic children and teens, who thoroughly enjoyed building their own rocket models.
“This was the best workshop at the whole festival!” one excited participant exclaimed.
