ID CARD

• Name: Lucie Zeches / Joseph Rodesch, aka Mr. Science
• Age: 29 / 47
• Hobbies: Dance (contemporary and ballet) / Music (bass and guitar), climbing, mountain biking
• Strengths: Listening and clarity / Creativity and enthusiasm
• Favorite school subject: Art / Math (and recess)
• Motto: “Just do it!” / “Carpe diem”

Now is the time: the third season of the Take Off Science Challenge Show launches in January. Staying true to its mission, the program continues to make science accessible, fun, and inspiring for young people. Presented by science coaches Lucie Zeches and Joseph Rodesch – aka Mr. Science – alongside host Olivier Catani, the show puts the creativity and curiosity of young people center stage through a series of scientific challenges. To mark the new season, Lucie and Joseph talk about what’s new, memorable moments and their perspective on the show.

Season 3 is coming soon: what are the major themes this year?

Joseph: We’re constantly exploring new territories – not just the classic natural sciences, but also everyday topics that can turn into surprisingly exciting logic puzzles. This year we kick off with an episode on the senses. We really scrambled the candidates’ perceptions! There’s also a police-themed episode with forensic challenges, where teams work like real crime scene investigators. Medicine plays a big role too, with three brand-new challenges. Chemistry, biology, and mathematics are of course all part of the mix: biology is simply magical, chemistry is beautiful, and mathematics is astonishingly creative. All in all, it’s a scientific walk through many worlds! And yes: there’s also a dog.

What major new features can viewers expect?

Lucie: This season is the season of surprises! The very first episode already shows it: everything is different. The game’s structure has been completely reimagined. This episode now unfolds in three distinct phases, with an elimination following each challenge, culminating in a decisive final duel. The stakes are raised much earlier – making every moment count. Get ready for a thrilling show!

Joseph: We also chose a very special location this year: the slate quarries of Martelange, where slate was mined up to 180 meters deep. Today, it’s an impressive museum – an extraordinary historic industrial site filled with science and progress. And of course, we designed challenges to match the setting.

The show strongly promotes scientific thinking. What core message do you want to convey to the audience?

Lucie: Anyone can achieve anything! We want to show that scientific thinking is not a privilege. Our candidates are very diverse: different backgrounds, ages, school systems, and languages. Yet on the show, they all begin on equal footing. With composure, teamwork, and logic, anyone can rise to the challenge. Testing, observing, reasoning, and adapting are the keys to success.

Joseph: We want to spark the audience with our Take Off fever! The entire production lives and breathes it. We’re all passionate, and that’s exactly what we want to pass on.

How did this season’s candidates surprise you?

Lucie: This season brought together strikingly different personalities, ensuring there was never a dull moment on set. Outside the show, their paths might never have crossed but Take Off created a space where they truly connected. Prepare to be surprised by their distinctive characters!

Joseph: This season was very emotional and intense. Our candidates are incredibly responsive, flexible, and creative – and each of them inspiring in their own way.

Do you have an anti-stress ritual?

Joseph: Stress? Us? Never!

Lucie: Take Off is like a vacation!

Joseph: No – just kidding. In reality, we carry a great deal of responsibility. When everything comes together, it feels like soaring; and then, in an instant, the entire house of cards can threaten to collapse. It’s an emotional roller coaster – Have I thought of everything? Will it all work out? My personal anti-stress ritual is Wim Hof breathing, which I practice every morning, taking time to reset and refocus.

(Editor’s note: Wim Hof breathing is a technique involving rapid, deep breaths followed by breath-holding, said to calm the nervous system, reduce stress, and boost energy.)

Lucie: I often feel torn because I’m preparing so many things at once and sometimes don’t have enough time to focus on what really matters. Joseph and I handle stress very differently: he wants to be around people, while I want to go home and spend time alone. But we do share one ritual: after filming, we bring everything back to the workshop and take a full day to clean up, listen to music, debrief, and relax. Every object tells its own story. Those are beautiful moments.

Which moment from filming Season 3 left the strongest impression on you?

Lucie: For me, the most thrilling episode is the Science Show. It’s where we come to know the candidates most intimately. One by one, they arrive at our “creative lab” in Sandweiler to prepare their performances. We coach them closely, and I feel a deep personal responsibility for each of them. Creating and delivering a science show of their own is an enormous challenge for such young participants. Just before they go on, I find myself wanting to pray for them – and I’m not even religious!

Joseph: The Science Show episode is also my favourite. It’s the ultimate discipline, as so much of it comes directly from the candidates themselves. However, the moment that left the deepest impression on me was something else entirely – spoiler alert! For the first time, we had to compete against the candidates ourselves, without knowing what awaited us. The rule was simple: if they beat us, they would earn a joker. This particular challenge was designed by the agency Kvark, who usually develop all our challenges with us, but this time worked without our involvement. The moment we found ourselves facing the candidates was unforgettable… and in the end, everything unfolded very differently than we had expected. Watch Episode 9 to find out !

If you had to describe Season 3 with just one sound, what would it be?

Lucie: OINK OINK

Joseph: MOOO… or TSCH-TSCH-TSCH-TSCH!

(Editor’s note: Write to them at their socials @takeoffshow.lu (TikTok or Instagram) if you have an idea why Lucie and Joseph chose these quirky sounds!)

What advice would you give to those considering applying for the next season of Take Off?

Lucie: It’s an incredibly formative and unique experience – one you won’t find anywhere else. Every candidate has said the same so far: the friends you make, the skills you learn… it’s all deeply enriching.

Joseph: Go for it! No matter how far you make it, everyone finds the experience rewarding. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. And don’t be afraid of failure – the show allows you to accept mistakes and learn from them.

If you were each a laboratory instrument, which one would you be – and how would you work together?

Joseph: I’d be a test tube: a space where anything can happen. A transparent vessel that not only enables reactions but makes them visible. Thanks to that transparency, processes can be observed, understood, and turned into knowledge.

Lucie: Then I’d be a Bunsen burner – the flame that sets the reaction in the test tube in motion.

Joseph: We complement each other quite well!

Which experiment would you have loved to include this year, but production vetoed to avoid an explosion in the studio?

Lucie: The production team actually loves explosions! But lifting candidates three meters into the air using gears was deemed a step too far.

Joseph: I wanted to lift a car with a bicycle pump. But unfortunately, objects that big aren’t allowed in the studio.

If you could invite one historical scientist to be on the jury, who would it be?

Lucie: Rosalind Franklin. She never received the recognition she deserved for the discovery of DNA’s structure. At Take Off, she could finally get it – and she’d surely have brilliant ideas for biology challenges.

Joseph: Richard Feynman. Jovial, brilliant – my absolute role model in science communication. The perfect juror!

Last words?

Joseph: A heartfelt thank-you to everyone working behind the scenes to make Take Off possible – especially Lea Merino from the André Losch Foundation. The foundation seeks to demonstrate that young people in Luxembourg are capable of extraordinary achievements, sometimes even surpassing adults! This is precisely what we witness on Take Off. The future looks bright indeed.

Author: Diane Bertel

Photos: Emmanuel Claude