Scientific and human legacy of Professor Jaroslav Heyrovský
The personality of Jaroslav Heyrovský (1890-1967), the founder of the Institute, is continuously presented to the general public through several programmes:
1) Travelling exhibition, The Story of the Drop
On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Nobel Prize awarded to Jaroslav Heyrovský (2009) a travelling exhibition called The Story of a Drop was created. The life story of the scientist Jaroslav Heyrovský, Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry (1959), is presented to the public through photographs, written documents, polarographic devices, books and other exhibits. Since its beginning, the exhibition has already visited 35 places and a total of 33,500 visitors have had the opportunity to see it. For more information on the exhibition and its associated programmes, please visit the website www.heyrovsky.cz, which is also an archive of all past exhibitions (Photo Gallery link).
2) Popularisation lecture Jaroslav Heyrovský: The road to the Nobel Prize through falling drops of mercury
Educational physical-chemical programs for secondary and elementary school students are, upon request, supplemented with a science lecture introducing not only Jaroslav Heyrovský but also polarography, for which he received the Nobel Prize in 1959.
If interested, please contact Dr. Květa Stejskalová.
3) The first polarographic device - exhibition in the lobby of the Institute
Visitors to the Institute will have the opportunity to see the first polarographic device, which started the successful era of polarography and its application in many fields, during the Open Days, the Night of Scientists or other events for the public. The tour can be complemented by a commentary introducing polarography and Jaroslav Heyrovský. If you are interested in booking a guided tour, please contact Dr. Květa Stejskalová.
4) Jaroslav Heyrovský Personal Library
The publication, which is an annotated inventory of the personal library of the Nobel Prize winner in chemistry Jaroslav Heyrovský, is illustrated with reproductions of book covers, title pages and important elements (signatures, notes, dedications...) contained in almost 300 books, journals and separate prints of scientific articles and papers, mainly in the field of polarography, kept at the Institute. The publication is supplemented by an interview with Michael Heyrovsky about his father's reading, a biography of Jaroslav Heyrovský and a selection of documents about his relationship to paper, to printing and to the field called book culture. Newly published is a collection of documents relating to the Nobel Prize, its award and Heyrovsky's personal acceptance of it from the hands of King Gustav Adolf VI of Sweden in Stockholm in December 1959, Heyrovsky's speeches, lectures and other testimonies about the event. The publication is remarkable for its rich pictorial appendix (40 pages). The publication was published on the occasion of the 125th anniversary of the scientist's birthday (2015).
In a small respirium in front of the Secretariat on the first floor of the Institute there is a personal library, which consists of the above-mentioned books and other documents stored in two glass cases. If interested, please contact Dr. Květa Stejskalová.
5) Popularisation of J. Heyrovský to the youngest: the booklet Read and paint your way to the Nobel Prize
Jaroslav Heyrovský tells his life story to children: the booklet, which we have prepared as a text and a colouring book, has been supplemented with simple tasks to solve. It is suitable for children from the first grade of primary school.
The booklet (in Czech) can be downloaded from the link - https://www.heyrovsky.cz/data/dokument/soubor/final-jh-deti-brozura-20stran.pdf.
