The first episode of the Take Off Science Challenge Show airs on Sunday, 14 January – on RTL and YouTube! Be there when the candidates face the challenges and fight to get through. Don’t miss the first show of its kind in Luxembourg, watch on RTL or YouTube! Take Off is a joint initiative of the André Losch Fondation and the Luxembourg National Research Fund (FNR). The show is produced by FreeLens in cooperation with BrainPlug and Moast.
What is the Take Off Show?
Experience science in a completely different way! Candidates compete against each other to solve science challenges. A rousing mix of emotions, tricky challenges and courageous young people: the Science Challenge Show Take Off will be a great, exciting event!
12 young talents between the ages of 15 and 21 will compete for the big prize money of €10,000! With cleverness, skill and scientific acumen, they have to solve tricky challenges and put their scientific minds to the test to get ahead, because: in each episode, one participant has to leave the show!
After 6 months of production, the time has finally come: from Sunday, there will be a new episode every week! We can’t give too much away yet, except to say that there will be plenty of excitement, emotion and aha moments. There’s already a little taster on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.
Take Off is a joint initiative of the André Losch Fondation and the Luxembourg National Research Fund (FNR). The show is produced by FreeLens in cooperation with BrainPlug and Moast.
When and where can the show be watched?
“Take Off” will be broadcast for the first time on 14 January at 19:00 on RTL Télé, RTL Play, the Take Off YouTube channel and on the takeoffshow.lu website.
The show will also be accompanied on social media (Instagram, YouTube and TikTok), where there will be additional material such as “Behind the Scenes” and funny trend videos from the candidates.
The concept of the show is inspired by the award-winning science show Rakett69 from Estonia, which won the prize for the best European educational show and is now in its 14th season.
The show will be hosted by Joseph Rodesch (aka Mr Science) and Lucie Zeches from the science.lu team of the Luxembourg National Research Fund (FNR), as well as Olivier Catani from RTL. Michèle Weber and Jean-Paul Bertemes helped to organise the project and were on the jury during the casting. We will regularly report on the show on science.lu and offer educational videos to bring the show from TV and the web into schools and classrooms in Luxembourg. Other members of the science.lu team were also involved in the conception, production and social media support. We are very excited to finally get started!
Who are the candidates for this first season?
150 candidates had registered for the pre-casting in June 2023! We were overwhelmed by the many talents who demonstrated their creativity, team spirit and logical thinking.
Of the 150, 26 candidates made it to the official casting in Belval, where more tricky challenges awaited them. The official casting was filmed and will now be broadcast as the first episode of the Take Off Show on 14 January at 19:00 on RTL Télé, RTL Play and takeoffshow.lu and YouTube.
You can already get to know them a little better on Instagram, take a look here!
All the candidates and which school they come from can be found here at a glance.
Of the 26, only the 12 best candidates made it through to the next round…the studio!
Are you interested in becoming a candidate for the second season? Then sign up for our newsletter and don’t miss the casting call : www.takeoffshow.lu
The Take Off project and its objectives
Take Off is more than just a show – it is a comprehensive project of the André Losch Fondation (ALF) and the Luxembourg National Research Fund (FNR) with several objectives. Getting young people and families excited about science by promoting role models they can identify with is one of them. With the support of the Ministry of Education and Research, this project aims to help every young person recognise and develop his or her scientific skills, regardless of gender or origin.
The André Losch Fondation supports projects dedicated to young people that encourage initiative and critical thinking, particularly through learning about science. Daniela Ragni, Director of the ALF, adds: ‘This project helps to strengthen the image of young people in society. Every young person has their strengths and abilities; it’s about finding and valorising them. Take Off makes it possible to emphasise the diversity and talents of each and every individual and to give them a space in which they can inspire and motivate other young people. We are also convinced that Take Off will help to show that science, in its complexity, is part of our everyday lives and is more accessible than we realise.
Teaching content for educators is also being developed: explanatory videos, available on science.lu and YouTube , provide support for the classroom and enable teachers to teach science in an exciting way.
Olivier Catani (RTL); Lucie Zeches (FNR); Joseph Rodesch (FNR)
