An important event of the festival will be the participation of two remarkable and renowned scientists, with international radiation, prestige and distinctions in the research/academic field in which they are active. These are:

  • Dr. Athanasia Athanasiou, Permanent Researcher and Head of the Smart Materials Team at the leading research center Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia in Genoa
  • Yiannis Ioannidis, President of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and Professor at the Department of Informatics and Telecommunications of the National & Kapodistrian University of Athens
  • while confirmation of the participation of Professor Erno Rubik, internationally famous for his cube is expected

A. PRE-FESTIVAL ACTIVITIES AT SCHOOL
Tuesday 14 to & Friday 17/10/25

Original educational morning programs specially designed for students of all levels. They combine knowledge with play!! Presented by university lecturers and researchers.

B. ACTIVITIES DURING THE FESTIVAL
Friday 17/10/2025 – START 19:30

  • Greetings
  • Self-presentation with humor – Science Reactors
  • What do we know about puzzles: a brief presentation by Pantazis Houlis
  • “The materials of tomorrow for a better planet”: Athanasia Athanasiou – researcher at Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia/ Genova
  • Patchwork: artistic event, an original combination of Art and Science with the Dustbowl team and the Kossyvaki sisters (researchers/musicians)

Saturday 18/10 & Sunday 19/10 (All day)

Parallel activities will take place in various indoor & outdoor spaces on the island: SANTRAPEIA SCHOOL • PRIMARY SCHOOL • HIGH SCHOOL • NURSERY • MEGISTI HOTEL

The Festival, in addition to workshops, exhibitions, and the puzzle competition, will cover other areas such as: Machine Learning | AI | Digital Transformation | Robotics | STEM Education | Health | Environment | Art | Culture | Local Tours/Excursions.

The workshops, interactive experiments, educational events, and experiential activities and talks will be presented in their own innovative way:

  • Academic teachers from the National Technical University of Athens, the Universities of Athens, Aegean, and Crete,
  • Researchers from the Academy of Athens, the Hellenic Pasteur Institute, the Foundation for Research and Technology in Crete- Hellas, the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, EL.ID.EK, etc.
  • The scientific team of Neuroholics will introduce us to the field of neuroscience
  • Dimitris Koniditsiotis, through impressive physics/chemistry experiments, will prove that “Science is Fun” (in collaboration with the Association of Greek Physicists).
  • Markos Skoulatos, a researcher from the Technical University of Munich, will present the gears and their role in the Antikythera Mechanism.
  • Prof. Kosmas Gazeas and his team (EKPA) continue the legendary stargazing/sun observation.
  • The Greek MENSA will ‘challenge’ us this year…
  • Escape rooms and treasure hunts by talented students and their teachers.
  • Educators from the 4th Gymnasium of Ano Liosia will present an award-winning trivia game on the natural sciences.
  • Scientific events by the gifted team Science Reactors
  • Pierros Patoucheas, geologist – presentation of rocks and introduction to geology (workshop mainly for young ages
  • The Dust Bowl will present the interesting program “Designing Sounds – From Mathematics and Physics to Instrument Making”
  • Interactive STEM Workshop from CityLab
  • Artistic/musical events that combine science with art and musical ensembles will constitute an interesting part of the festival.

Lastly, another impressive event of the festival will be the installation of the Planetarium On The Go, a unique portable dome planetarium with Telescopes & Meteorites.

ON BOTH DAYS IN THE MAIN HALL OF THE SANTRANPEIA SCHOOL THERE WILL BE A PUZZLE EXHIBITION & PUZZLE WORKSHOPS: (1000-1400)
I solve / play / create puzzles (for all ages)
Puzzle makers from the island, Athens, and abroad will present their puzzles aimed at cultivating the skills of both young and old.

Sunday 19/10: Closing Ceremony of the festival

  • Απολογισμός Review
  • “Scientific and Ethical Puzzles of Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence: Giannis Ioannidis, Professor of Computer Science/EAP & President of ACM
  • Closing with musical ensembles

Parallel activities

  • Saturday and Sunday morning: Morning tours of the island with Pantazis Houli, who, alongside the riddles, has mapped all the island’s paths.
  • Saturday afternoon the 9th Megistean Aenigma Agon (a puzzle competition, which this year includes Icarus’ Islands) will take place.
  •  Saturday evening: The legendary stargazing by Prof. Kosmas Gazeas and his team (University of Athens) in collaboration with the PLANETARIUM.
  • Monday morning there will be two guided tours at the Puzzle Museum following prior arrangement.

NOTE: This multi-thematic program was designed for children to experiment and discover the small and big secrets of science. The presence of the entire local community, visitors, as well as students from neighboring islands (Rhodes, Symi, Kos, Halki) and from Athens, is recorded in the positive outcomes of previous festivals.
Among the goals of the 5th festival is the participation of children and educators from regions of Greece.
The Kastellorizo Puzzle Festival/Science Games has now established itself as an institution, proving that this small, remote Greek island, from the edge of Europe, can provide lessons and export innovative culture.