Sofia’s Urban Environment – News in Brief
On June 23, a new type of children’s interactive technology center opened in Sofia. It is a place where children of different ages can learn about different fields of science through play and experiments. The center called TechnoMagicLand is located in Sofia Tech Park, in the Experimentarium building. The facility covers an area of 1 300 sq m and offers nearly 40 interactive and cognitive experiments in the fields of natural sciences, mathematics and information technology – the so-called STEM fields. Furthermore, TechnoMagicLand has a demonstration space and laboratories for workshops and events in the field of science and technology. The place is suitable for individual and group visits, as most of the exhibits are accessible for people with disabilities, and the explanations for the facilities are both in Bulgarian and English.
TechnoMagicLand is suitable for children over the age of 7 and is open every day, excluding Mondays. Find more at www.TechnoMagicLand.com
***
A plan for 15 new metro stations in the capital is in a stage of public consultation before becoming a subject of a voting procedure by the City Council. The new stations are in line with the expansion of the third ray of the Sofia metro and will be in the following neighborhoods: Lyulin – between the second and the third micro-district, Mladost – in the direction of Simeonovski lift, Studentski grad – to the National Sports Academy and in ‘Slatina’ district.
—
A new mobile application, serving as a virtual guide for cultural events, historical sites and tourist routes in Sofia, was created. The application, funded under the “Culture” Program of Sofia Municipality, provides information on the nearest tourist sites depending on the current location and offers visits to museums, galleries, churches, hiking trails, traditional cuisine restaurants, events (including theater, ballet, opera and concerts). The application called Sofia CulTour was developed by Baise Systems Ltd., the creators of the Listen Up platform that provides real time sign language and speech-to-text translation for deaf people.
—
The “Green zone” for parking in Sofia is planned to be extended this autumn. It is envisaged that the zone for paid parking will also cover the upper part of Lozenets residential district, part of Krasno selo, between “I. Geshov “,”P. Slaveykov”,” Totleben” and “G.Sofiyski” boulevards, part of “Vazrazhdane” district – between “K. Velichkov”, “Slivnitsa”, “Al. Stamboliyski” boulevards and “D. Petkov” and “Opalchenska”, and Oborishte district – between “Hristo and Evlogi Georgievi”, “Sitnyakovo”, “D. Nikolaev” boulevards and “Cherkovna” street. Sofia Municipal Council plans to offer discounts to cars with vignette stickers; the vignette stickers are expected to be issued for two years instead of the current 12-month period. Electric cars will continue to park for free in the “blue” and “green” zones.
