Poster for the III Valencian Night of the Researchers Researchers.

The Nursery Gardens have become this Friday, September 27, the gardens of science. This emblematic green space in Valencia has been the place chosen to host the third edition of the Night Valenciana de les Investigadores, dedicated to women researchers. Under the motto “I came to see the garden of science”, there were activities and shows for all tastes and ages: scientific workshops for girls, boys and young people, talks on Valencian research, relaxed monologues, free visits to the Museum of Natural Sciences of Valencia and the Church of San Nicolás de València, among other activities.

“The University of Valencia is committed to equality, and That is why we support scientists and researchers to be known, visible and able to show their capabilities,” highlighted the Vice-Rector for Innovation and Transfer, María Dolores Real. In addition, he added: "we join the European Researchers Night through the III Valencian Researchers' Night to show this commitment and help make it a reality." Scientific (CSIC), INCLIVA Institute of Health Research, the Museum of Natural Sciences of València, the departments of Heritage and Natural Resources and of Equality and Gender and LGTB Policies of the City Council of Valencia and El Caleidoscopio, a company of the science park of the Miguel Hernández University of Elche (UMH).

The activities in Viveros began at 6 p.m. with a series of workshops aimed at flourishing new scientific vocations and to bring science closer to Valencian society. To give several examples, there was an XXL board to learn about bacteria by playing, two workshops to understand from a genetic perspective why we are all the same as well as different, to prepare slime, build a bridge with spaghetti or identify microplastics in common salt and water.

Simultaneously with the workshops, those who participated were able to approach the photocall of the event and immortalize in video format their experience and their opinion about the importance of science.

Relaxed talks and monologues about science

The children's and youth workshops, and visits to the Museum of Natural Sciences concluded around 8 p.m. and then began a series of monologues and relaxed conversations between scientists.

Dr. Vicente Navarro and Anna Quirant (FISABIO) spoke about how to properly feed human bacteria and explained the latest research on their relationship. with diseases such as Alzheimer's or atopic skin.

For his part, Dr. Carlos Roma (INCLIVA Health Research Institute) explained what they are, what they are for and why it is important to donate tissues and organs to biobanks.

Dr. Ana Lluch (UV) spoke about current events in Breast cancer research and Dr. Dolors Corella (UV) discovered The taste of omics in nutrition and health.

Mª Pilar López Gresa and Purificación Lisón, scientists from the Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology of Plants (UPV-CSIC) brought smiles with the monologue The aroma of resistance, which details how tomatoes emit an aroma that can protect our crops against drought.

Finally, Berta Rubio (IFIC) spoke about the origin of chemical elements and Nuclear Physics and Emilia Matallana (I2SysBio) on why Producing wine is an art.

The culmination was the performance of the IES Berenguer Dalmau (Catarroja) musical group, one of the winners in the 2019 edition of the video contest to promote scientific vocations “De major vull ser com…”.

The journalist specialized in cultural and scientific information Reis Juan hosted. the evening, in which the attending public was also able to test their knowledge about science through an interactive game.

The event was held on the occasion of the European Researchers Night, a project of the European Commission to bring the most human part of Research closer to citizens and which takes place simultaneously in 300 cities across the continent.

The activities were open to the public and no prior registration was necessary. All citizens were invited to attend and enjoy this European day that turned Los Viveros into a garden planted with science to grow new scientific vocations and make visible the importance of research and innovation.

ANNEX ACTIVITIES

FISABIO Foundation

Bacteriopolis Game

As if Whatever the goose game is, the participants will become bacteria that will advance along a giant board until they reach Fisabio's laboratories. In the special boxes we will learn, for example, that Lactobacillus turn milk into yogurt or that some bacteria can be resistant to antibiotics.

Biomedical gymkhana

Scientific test with five questions that participants can solve by following the clues. Finding out all the answers will have a prize!

Workshop-recipe Your DNA in a tube

With the help of Fisabio scientists, we will learn to extract DNA from cells in our mouth and we will be able to see how it floats in the test tube! 

Microscopic Life Workshop

What is a microorganism? How is a bacteria grown? Have you never looked at a hair under a microscope? Do you want to see what bacteria are like? We will observe plant cells from the transparent membranes of the onion, cells from our own saliva, hair, blood... Are you prepared? 

UNIVERSITAT DE VALÈNCIA

Workshop Prepare your slime (ICMOL)

This experience consists of making the well-known slime from common elements of daily life such as transparent glue, borax and water. To give color, cake dyes will be used and a few drops of fluorescent substances will be added that will make the slime shine when illuminated with ultraviolet light.

Invisible Ink Workshop (ICMOL)

With the help of iron solutions with Prussian blue, secret messages can be written, and through a chemical reaction that occurs in the process, and by revealing them with water, the messages can be deciphered. written messages.

Workshop Come and synthesize your MOF molecular sponge here and purify our waters! Porous materials to save the planet (ICMOL)

There are some very porous materials, known as metal-organic networks or MOF (Metal-Organic Framework), which present ordered structures with molecular-sized pores that can be chemically controlled. These MOFs can be seen as if they were a construction game, which are obtained by assembling their units, the ligands and the metals, thus obtaining infinite possible structures.

MOFs work like sponges, being very useful for trapping and storing molecules in very small spaces in their structure, which can later be released. Their applications in biomedicine stand out, for the controlled release of drugs, or their uses with environmental implications, such as the selective capture of greenhouse gases, the collection of water from the air in the desert or the purification of water. These MOF materials can be obtained from low-cost ingredients and, therefore, are presented as possible materials of the future to promote cleaner energy.

UNIVERSITAT POLITÈCNICA DE VALÈNCIA

Workshop How to observe your voice

The voice generates a series of vibrations imperceptible to the human eye. How could we observe it? With a simple system using a boat, a balloon, a mirror and a laser pointer and thanks to the vibration of the voice we will be able to draw the sounds that people make.

Workshops with Chemical Science

Through this workshop, attendees will be able to learn chemistry with simple, playful and at the same time very educational experiments. They will be able to make, for example, a homemade lava volcano, experiment with elephant toothpaste and colored flames or build their own homemade pH indicator, among other activities.

Workshop Building bridges... with spaghetti

This workshop aims to bring participants closer to Civil Engineering and discover the role that bridges have within society, as well as from an artistic perspective. Small groups will be formed, which will make a bridge prototype with spaghetti and silicone guns. Once the bridges are built, a load test is carried out taking into account the weight of the bridge itself and the loads that are added to it. In this way, the efficiency of each of the bridges built is evaluated.

This workshop, inspired by a similar one carried out by Professor M. Schlaich in Berlin, encourages critical thinking, teamwork and opens a new vision to the participants about a structure as complex and essential as bridges.

Workshop The importance of drainage systems

Attendees will learn the importance of having drains to evacuate water in case of heavy rain.

To do this, this workshop presents a model that reproduces a section of road, with its drainage organs, on which water is simulated with sprinklers. The model shows the way in which the drainage organs keep the road free of water.

Robotics Workshop

The GROMEP group at the Alcoi campus of the Universitat Politècnica de València will teach basic concepts of robot programming, in workshops that will allow participants to enter the world of robotics.

Visits San Nicolás

Before the workshops, between 4:30 p.m. and 6 p.m., free guided tours will take place – upon registration – to the Church of San Nicolás, where you can see the church's frescoes and its restoration process will be explained. The guided tours will be led by Pilar Roig, researcher at the IRP Institute of the UPV and director of the pictorial restoration work on the San Nicolás frescoes.

Each visit will last 30 minutes. There will be a total of three shifts, for 30 people each. To attend, it will be necessary to reserve a place by writing an email to comunicacion@upv.es, indicating the shift (4:30 p.m., 5:00 p.m. or 5:30 p.m.).

The reservation can be made until next Thursday, September 26 at 3 p.m. Reservations will be made until places are sold out, in order of registration.

INCLIVA Health Research Institute

Biobank Workshop

Various activities will be carried out to explain what a Biobank is and its purpose. In charge of the INCLIVA Biobank.

Workshop We are all the same, we are all different

This activity aims to explain what genes are and how they affect us. Activity carried out by the INCLIVA Precision Medicine Platform.

Vinegar fly workshop

Specimens of Drosophila melanogaster will be shown, with the possibility of observing them under the microscope, and it will be explained that it is an insect widely used in genetic research, due to its short life cycle. In charge of the Translational Genomics Research Group of INCLIVA.

Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC)

Workshop on Biopolymers, edible packaging and microplastics (IATA)

First of all, the current problems of synthetic plastics related to their dependence on oil and the amount of waste generated will be discussed. In addition, the sources of obtaining them will be shown, as well as the production methods of different bioplastics and examples of their application in the food area will be included (both as packaging, coatings or food additives). Finally, attendees will be able to see microplastics found in common salt and water.

Workshop Discover the secrets of plants (IBMCP)

Do plants have veins? Can you have a tree in a jam jar? You can discover all this and much more in the IBMCP workshop.

Workshop A particle accelerator on your table (IFIC)

Particle accelerators are one of the main tools to understand the subatomic world. In them we accelerate known particles, such as protons or electrons, to very high speeds and then use that energy to produce new particles, which have a very short lifespan or may even be unknown. In this workshop we will explain how an accelerator works and what is the objective of machines like the LHC at CERN, the largest particle accelerator in the world.

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III Valencian Night of Researchers