More than a festival
The one thousand people that came to the 3rd Science Festival of the University of Barcelona last Friday, show that this activity -organized by La UB Divulga- is a reference for those who want to see in person what the research at the UB is like.
Everyone could discover and value the goods registered in UNESCOʼs World Heritage list; they saw that thanks to chemiluminescence we can detect blood in a crime scene; they took a piece of the Milky Way to their houses, they tested their artistic skills in the illustration workshop of Sabater Pi, and saw their brain waves with the electro-encephalogram technique, among other activities.
The one thousand people that came to the 3rd Science Festival of the University of Barcelona last Friday, show that this activity -organized by La UB Divulga- is a reference for those who want to see in person what the research at the UB is like.
Everyone could discover and value the goods registered in UNESCOʼs World Heritage list; they saw that thanks to chemiluminescence we can detect blood in a crime scene; they took a piece of the Milky Way to their houses, they tested their artistic skills in the illustration workshop of Sabater Pi, and saw their brain waves with the electro-encephalogram technique, among other activities.
Discovering the research of the UB in person
Among all the attendants that came in the morning, there were more than four hundred students of primary school, secondary school and upper secondary school, who were happy with the experience and were sure they would come back next year. “We did not know about the festival but now that we have come, we will come back every year. It is well organized, kids were fascinated and so were we” said Yolanda, teacher in the school Escola Can Clos, a center that has launched a project to work on research topics more intensely.
There were older attendants, a couple over 80 who had heard about the festival and came to see it: “We got here at 11.30 and are leaving after two hours. It was very interesting, we saw all the stands, the researchers explained everything in detail and with outstanding friendliness. The workshops are interesting, I could not choose just one, we are happy to have come”, said Conxa Vallhonesta at the exit door.
Some people who were walking near the University, came inside to see why the Historical Building was looking so festive. There were of course Japanese tourists taking pictures of everything, and children who did not go to school that day so they could attend the festival.
The Director General for Universities, Josep Pallarès did not miss this event and visited almost each one of the forty stands, together with the Rector, Joan Elias, and the Vice-Rector for Research, Domènec Espriu.
In the afternoon, audience were mostly families and they came mostly to enjoy the two afternoon activities: at 18h, mostly aimed for the youngest of the house, the show Flebotín, un mosquit del Cretaci (Flebotín, a mosquito from the Cretaceous), from the project Pintaʼm un conte; and at 19h, for the music lovers, a neuroconcert a cappella “From auditory perception to the pleasure of listening to music”, that would close the event.
La UB Divulga values the festival positively
Apart from the successful amount of participation, the Head of the Scientific Culture and Innovation Unit (UCC+i) of the University of Barcelona, Marga Becerra, highlighted, at the end of the day, “the commitment of all researchers who participated in the activity, as well as the administration and services staff of the University of Barcelona, who spent a lot of time and effort to make this activity work properly. Without them, such a good evaluation would not be possible”.
The festival has support from the Barcelona City Council and the firm Torrot, and the collaboration of PanReac AppliChem, PCE Instruments and Esteve.