Great Inventors Festival 2026
“TRY”
14.-15. On November 1st, the PROTO Invention Factory will be filled with experiments, inventions, and the joy of discovery! The Great Inventors Festival brings together science centers, inventors, and activists from Estonia and beyond to offer two days of scientific adventures for the whole family.
The theme of this year’s festival is “TRY!” What happens if…? Could it work? But what if we try something completely different? Every invention starts with a question and the courage to experiment. Sometimes it works right away, sometimes you have to change something and try again – in both cases there is something to discover!
Foreign guests from Latvia and Finland
This year, we welcome the Cēsis Space Education Center from Latvia and the Heureka Science Center from Finland to the festival ! Both will bring exciting activities that invite you to try, explore, and discover for yourself.
partners
What's exciting to expect?
- Science shows, where experiments arouse curiosity, surprise, and help us understand how the world works.
- Workshops and activity areas where you can build, craft, and test your ideas.
- Inventions and technology that will help you explore how smart solutions are created and work.
- An exhibition of the drawing competition “TRY!”, where you can see how children and young people depict experimentation on paper.
You don’t have to be a spectator at the festival. Ask, try, build and experiment with your family – maybe your next invention idea will be born here!
Schedule and participants
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 14
Stage program
12.00 – Festival opening and Heureka Science Center from Finland
13.00 – AHHAA Mechanics Science Theater
14.00 – Cēsis Space Center from Latvia
15.00 – Student Formula: Composite Materials Testing
16.00 – Ice Age Center: “The Mystery of the Mammoth”
Workshops and activities throughout the day:
• Heureka (Finland) – “Magic in a Cup”: Make a color-changing drink and discover the secrets of kitchen chemistry.
• Cēsis Space Center (Latvia) – build an inertial vehicle, test it on the track, and improve your solution to make the car roll even further.
• AHHAA – “Tensegrity” and “Earthquake Tower”: Build and test the balance and durability of structures.
• Tallinn TV Tower – LEGO tasks: find a solution by experimenting within a given time.
• Solaride – build a wind car and test how the wind makes it move.
• Student Formula – learn about electric formula and find out how a student-built race car is made.
• Student Satellite – Build a satellite out of popsicle sticks and try a satellite-themed video game.
• Tallinn University of Technology Institute of Educational Sciences / Eduspace – robot workshops and testing.
• Digipurk – robotics and electronics workshops
• Camp Roboring / Camp JR. Unicorns – build a LEGO car, get it to drive down a ramp, and perfect your solution.
• The Three Pigs – make a harmonica and test how it makes sound.
• Ice Age Center – examine mammoth teeth, a piece of wax, and a food table, and test your knowledge in a quiz.
• North Tallinn Youth Center – making and flying paper airplanes, windmills, and construction and movement tasks for the whole family.
• ÕF Flammik – discover how firelighters are made from coffee grounds.
• ÕF Käpp – get to know the canned drink stopper invented by young people.
• PROTO Invention Factory – make a unique paper pinwheel and discover how the wind makes it move.
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 15
Stage program
12.00 – Opening of the festival day and Heureka Science Center from Finland
13.00 – AHHAA Mechanics Science Theater
14.00 – Cēsis Space Center from Latvia
15.00 – Awarding ceremony for the drawing competition “TRY!”
16.00 – Ice Age Center: “The Mystery of the Mammoth”
Workshops and activities throughout the day:
• Heureka (Finland) – “Magic in a Cup”: Make a color-changing drink and discover the secrets of kitchen chemistry.
• Cēsis Space Center (Latvia) – build an inertial vehicle, test it on the track, and improve your solution to make the car roll even further.
• AHHAA – “Tensegrity” and “Earthquake Tower”: Build and test the balance and durability of structures.
• Tallinn TV Tower – LEGO tasks: find a solution by experimenting within a given time.
• Tallinn University of Applied Sciences – build a Da Vinci bridge without fasteners and try programming robots. You can also play a big Jenga game at the festival area.
• Student Formula – learn about electric formula and find out how a student-built race car is made.
• Student Satellite – Build a satellite out of popsicle sticks and try a satellite-themed video game.
• Tallinn University Institute of Educational Sciences / Eduspace – robot workshops and testing.
• Digipurk – robotics and electronics workshops.
• Camp Roboring / Camp JR. Unicorns – build a LEGO car, get it to drive down a ramp, and perfect your solution.
• The Three Pigs – make a harmonica and test how it makes sound.
• Ice Age Center – examine mammoth teeth, a piece of wax, and a food table, and test your knowledge in a quiz.
• ÕF Flammik – discover how firelighters are made from coffee grounds.
• PROTO Invention Factory – make a unique paper pinwheel and discover how the wind makes it move.
See the gallery
SPONSORS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Admission with PROTO ticket or museum card!