A glimpse of UB research, at Espai Ciència in Saló de lʼEnsenyament (Education Fair)
Espai Ciència in Saló de lʼEnsenament has a clear aim: to make research attractive enough to promote scientific vocations among youngsters. It is organized by the Catalan Foundation for Research and Innovation, and the University of Barcelona is taking part in it once more. This year, the UB participates in the educational fair with two stands, which will be open all day, from March 22 to 26, in Palau 2 in Montjuïc. One of them will be coordinated by La UB Divulga and will offer practical workshops on several fields of knowledge. The other is jointly organized by the Faculty of Earth Sciences and the Institute of Earth Sciences Jaume Almera (ICTJA-CSIC).
Espai Ciència in Saló de lʼEnsenament has a clear aim: to make research attractive enough to promote scientific vocations among youngsters. It is organized by the Catalan Foundation for Research and Innovation, and the University of Barcelona is taking part in it once more. This year, the UB participates in the educational fair with two stands, which will be open all day, from March 22 to 26, in Palau 2 in Montjuïc. One of them will be coordinated by La UB Divulga and will offer practical workshops on several fields of knowledge. The other is jointly organized by the Faculty of Earth Sciences and the Institute of Earth Sciences Jaume Almera (ICTJA-CSIC).
La UB Divulga and the promotion of scientific vocations
Like all activities with the participation of La UB Divulga, Espai Ciència aims to promote social interest in science and knowledge, as well as increasing scientific culture of the people and contribute to increase scientific vocations among youngsters and children. “In Saló de lʼEnsenyament, what makes Espai Ciència special is that workshops are activity-like and are organized by the researchers, and this enables the visitors having direct access and getting their doubts solved” says Marga Becerra, head of the Scientific Culture and Innovation Unit of the UB.
The activities are varied and the fields of knowledge covered in the workshops are totally diverse. For example, the Faculty of Law has an activity on juridical culture and society at the European Union, which consists on assessing attendants on juridical and financial knowledge.
Also, researchers from the research group Freshwater Ecology and Management (FEM), from the Faculty of Biology, will show the functioning of the app RIU.net, which assesses the ecological state of the rivers.
The Faculty of Psychology will offer a workshop on virtual reality with the presentation of a computer program able to create the same physical, psychological, emotional and behavioural reactions that we experience when facing real stimuli.
The Faculty of Physics is organizing four activities. On the one hand, the Group of Analysis of Adverse Meteorological Situations (GAMA) will show the FLOODUP app for phone devices, and visitors will learn about floods and their consequences in recent episodes. On the other hand, the research group LENS-MIND-IN2UB (Department of Quantum Physics) will organize a workshop on electronic microscopic transmission. Also, the Institute of Cosmos Sciences will offer two workshops: one on dissemination of quantum mechanics and ultracold gases, and another in which visitors will see different materials and activities related to sky cartography and measurement of stellar distances, in particular the ones in the Gaia mission.
Last, researchers of the Institute for Research on Nutrition and Food Safety (INSA-UB) of the Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Science, will organize the workshop Els sentits i lʼalimentació. With several demonstrations of tastes, smells, colours and textures, they will experiment how the organoleptic traits and our brain influence our selection of foods and therefore, our nutrition and health.
Earth sciences in daily life
The Faculty of Earth Sciences of the UB and the Institute of Earth Sciences Jaume Almera (ICTJA-CSIC) organize together a stand aiming to promote social projection in Geology, Geological Engineering and Marine Sciences, as well as bringing these disciplines closer to high school students and teachers, showing the environmental, social and economic challenges they involve.
The activities and research lines of both institutions are presented in: material characterization, Earth dynamics and structure, exploration and exploitation of geological resources (rocks and minerals, water, fossil fuel), analysis of climate changes in geological records, life evolution, environmental management and prevention of geological risks (earthquakeʼs, volcanoes, floods, etc.), geology and construction of big infrastructures and geological storage of CO2.
Moreover, the stand will show the functioning of the new app BCNRocks, jointly created by both institutions (with the support from FECYT-MINECO) which allows disseminating about geology, discovering ornamental rocks from Roman times until today, while walking and visiting the most emblematic buildings in Passeig de Gràcia, Plaça Catalunya and the Gothic Quarter.
The schedules for the different activities and detailed program of Espai Ciència can be read here.