UB's research is celebrating

On Friday, May 12, the Historical Building of the UB will hold the 3rd Science Festival of the University of Barcelona during all day.
On Friday, May 12, the Historical Building of the UB will hold the 3rd Science Festival of the University of Barcelona during all day.
Research
(09/05/2017)

On Friday May 12, the Historical Building of the UB will throw the 3rd Science Festival of the University of Barcelona during all day. Counting with the successful participation and attendance of previous editions, the Festival tries to represent all faculties of the University of Barcelona and brings back the most successful workshops from other editions. It also brings lots of new activities such an activity to discover the Catalan philology, a workshop on symmetry, three activities on plant physiology, a neuroconcert and a place dedicated to the figure of Sabater Pi.

The main aim of the festival is to reach non-expertized audiences and people from all ages. Therefore there will be a corner with a selection of science-related books, tales and comics for children so that the kids can pause and enjoy some reading. There will be a show for the children too in the afternoon: Flebotín, a mosquito from the Cretaceous.
 

On Friday, May 12, the Historical Building of the UB will hold the 3rd Science Festival of the University of Barcelona during all day.
On Friday, May 12, the Historical Building of the UB will hold the 3rd Science Festival of the University of Barcelona during all day.
Research
09/05/2017

On Friday May 12, the Historical Building of the UB will throw the 3rd Science Festival of the University of Barcelona during all day. Counting with the successful participation and attendance of previous editions, the Festival tries to represent all faculties of the University of Barcelona and brings back the most successful workshops from other editions. It also brings lots of new activities such an activity to discover the Catalan philology, a workshop on symmetry, three activities on plant physiology, a neuroconcert and a place dedicated to the figure of Sabater Pi.

The main aim of the festival is to reach non-expertized audiences and people from all ages. Therefore there will be a corner with a selection of science-related books, tales and comics for children so that the kids can pause and enjoy some reading. There will be a show for the children too in the afternoon: Flebotín, a mosquito from the Cretaceous.
 

From Catalan philology to plant physiology, going through history, symmetry and physics

One of the new workshops is Discover the Catalan Philology, which proposes three activities to discover the Catalan philology: a quiz on language and literature, crosswords, a poem with blanks to be filled in and some phonetic transcription exercises. It is organized by the Study Group on Variation, from the Department of Catalan Philology. The consolidation group of Training Innovation FONCAT, from the same faculty, comes with the workshop Can we improve our Catalan pronunciation?

Among other novelties are three workshops on plant physiology. The participants will see what a seed is and how we can use it, why there are different seeds and how they spread; they will see in vitro cultures and their uses in agriculture for an improvement in plants, and will broaden their knowledge on leaves and stomata.

Another new workshop allows visitors to discover and value the items that are registered in the list of UNESCOʼs world heritage through community participation. After a short explanation of the meaning of world heritage and the international importance of preserving it, the workshop highlights the necessary participation of local communities so that preservation is efficient.

The Department of Crystallography, Mineralogy and Mineral Deposits brings a workshop to work on the concept of symmetry through games with geometrical pieces, bullets, and other elements that allow visitors to discover different symmetries and acquire some elementary concepts.

For the lovers of astronomy, the Institute of Cosmos Sciences (ICCUB) will exhibit a big scale representation of the Milky Way, a project conducted within the framework of the Gaia mission, led by the European Space Agency (ESA). The stand will have a workshop to create constellations that will make people understand the three dimensions of the 1.000 millions of stars in the Milky Way.
 

Virtual reality, chemistry and microscopes, already a reference

The stands dedicated to virtual reality created a lot of interest in the previous editions. This year, the team in Eventlab, from the Institute of Neurosciences of the UB, brings the activity The Virtual Island to discover whether virtual experiences can have an impact on us and change us in the real world. The activity suggests that participants imagine a life in a different world for some time, having a different body and making friends with whom they share experiences that can only exist in a virtual world.

The activity chemistry and color, which shows the ultraviolet and infrared radiation effects in different substances and shows how to detect blood in a crime scene, is back again, as well as the stand with the periodic table, that brings visitors closer to chemical elements and explains what molecules are or how chemical formulations are done, among other things.

How are liver cells? And cells in testicles? Are they different from the ones in kidneys? How would a ratʼs tongue be seen in a microscope? Are spermatozoids like we imagine them? These are some of the answers to be answered at the festival for those who visit the stand of microscopes and loupes, organized by the Faculty of Biology and the UCC+i of the UB.

Moreover, attendants will have the opportunity to build a DNA double helix, make a Iuris test, switch their brains on, see an exhibition of the app Flood-up for phone devices or make a questionnaire on bioethics, among other activities.

 

An illustration workshop within the framework of the space dedicated to the figure of Jordi Sabater Pi

The expert on African etiology, primatology and anthropology Jordi Sabater Pi -mostly known for having found and given to the Zoo of Barcelona the albino gorilla Snowflake- will have his own space in the festival, with an illustration workshop led by experts, inviting the visitors to represent their surrounding nature, in this case the gardens of the Historical Building, in the same way Sabater Pi did with his environment. There will be almost two hundred nature-themed pictures that belong to the large Sabater Pi collection, ceded to the CRAI of the University of Barcelona years ago.


A neuroconcert to close the party

One of the outstanding novelties of this yearʼs festival is a neuroconcert that will be given at 19 h in the garden Ferran Soldevila, at the Historical Building. The aim of this performance, organized by the Institute of Neurosciences of the UB, is to talk about musical perception and the feelings it creates, throughout a dialogue with musicians and neuroscientists, accompanied by five voices a cappella. Understanding the mechanisms through which music creates particular moods has been a fascinating objective for neuroscience over the years.

Others

The stand of Publications and Editions of the UB will offer a UB BUFF® scarf so that people can collaborate with the funding of scientific dissemination activities organized by the Scientific Culture and Innovation Unit (UCC+i) of the UB.

Another new thing for this year is a van in the garden so that visitors can buy food and drinks during all day.