An opportunity to touch the basalt rocks spewed out by the La Palma volcano, to launch a “rocket” built from plastic bottles, to test the antioxidant properties of tangerines and tomatoes in real time, to discover the sun through of a telescope or to look at the celestial dome like never before. The XIX La Orotava Science Fair offered yesterday a complete range of activities that were seasoned with experiments, talks and workshops for all audiences. The annual event brought the research which is done in Canary Islands children and adults in an entertaining and interesting way thanks to the participation of at least 80 scientists that made this nineteenth edition one of the most successful in its history.
the crowded Constitution Plaza It caught the attention of anyone who walked through the area or decided to sit down and have a coffee in one of the traditional kiosks in the square. The villeros are used to enjoying this traditional event that, for 19 years, has been held non-stop in the municipality. Neither the economic crisis nor the inclemencies of the pandemic were enough to stop the celebration of the oldest Science Fair in the Canary Islands. But yesterday the city woke up exultant thanks to the influx of people from Tenerife from all over the island.
At least 80 scientists from 19 research groups participated in the event
Barely two hours after the starting gun was fired, thousands of people could already be counted who had taken a “jump” through the Fair in an effort to entertain the little ones for a few hours on Sunday, attracted by the crowd or convinced that the participating scientists would be able to resolve some vital doubts. In just a glance at the morning atmosphere, the director of the Fair, Juanjo Martín, predicts the possibility that this edition will break “attendance records”. In the afternoon he already calculated that at least 10,000 people had passed through the Plaza de la Constitución to enjoy scientific dissemination in its purest form. In his opinion, after two years of restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic, which first forced to do an online edition and then to do it with a capacity limit, “it shows that there was a desire to return to normality.”
Children, the elderly and some pets spent a different Sunday discovering the scientific advances that are being carried out in the Canary Islands, thanks to the predisposition of various research groups to take their laboratories out into the streets. This year the Fair has had the collaboration of up to 19 research teams from different entities, such as the Official College of Chemists of the Canary Islands, the Canarian Orotava Foundation for the History of Science, the Telesforo Bravo Foundation, the Volcanological Institute of the Canary Islands, the Association Spanish Against Cancer, the Cassiopeia Cultural Classroom, the National Geographic Institutethe Cultural Classroom of Computational Thinking, the Genetics Group of the University of La Laguna (ULL), the Materials and Chemistry Group (ULL), Gorona del Viento of the Cabildo de El Hierro, the Science and Technology Park of the Cabildo de Tenerifethe Fisquitos Mathematics Group, the Plant Ecophysiology Group, the Science and Cosmos Museum, the Interreg EELabs Project of the IAC, the Physical Geography and Environment Group of the ULPGC) or the Group for the Evaluation of the Impact of Emerging Microplastic Contaminants on the Coasts of Macaronesia (ULL). “This is the edition in which we have had the greatest participation from research organisations,” Martín congratulates, who thanks both the La Orotava City Council and the Cepsa Foundation for their collaboration in making this edition a reality.
Curious children approach – but with the initial shyness that characterizes children so much – to those places where there is an experiment or a piece of junk that catches their attention. Two children stop to contemplate the giant inflatable in the form of a DNA double helix at the AECC post. Suddenly, the friendly voice of a woman wakes them from their reverie. Hello, we are going to start a workshop, do you want to participate? The voice is that of a volunteer of the Association. The children nod excitedly. The table is full of fruits and vegetables. The question seems forced. “Do you eat fruit?” asks the volunteer. “I do, a lot,” one of the children replies enthusiastically. The other takes advantage of his right not to respond. The first child’s quick response is ratified by his mother standing behind him, nodding proudly. “And vegetables?” The question seems to have struck bone. «Well…», the little boy answers doubtfully with a small voice.
After listening to their verdicts, the scientist begins to soak a piece of paper with betadine. The white paper turns blue under the attentive gaze of the little ones. “This happens because betadine is capable of oxidizing paper – she explains – her, but there are foods that can reverse this oxidation”. She places a piece of tangerine, another of tomato, a pepper, a potato and a piece of paper with water. Immediately, as if it were a magic trick, the paper returns to its original state under the mandarin and tomato segments. “Tangerine and tomato are very good antioxidants”, highlights the volunteer who has managed, with a simple experiment, to demonstrate the importance of having a healthy life to prevent the development of diseases.
cutting edge technology
At the end of the square there is a corner dedicated to technological advances that allow the development of electric vehicles and small space satellites. There, the TeideSat project researchers take turns impressing the children by launching a homemade rocket. Every five minutes there is a demonstration. The researcher chooses three girls who have wanted to be part of the experiment. After equipping them with helmets and goggles, he distributes the tasks: two of them will inject air into the bottle and the other will only have to pull a rope at the right time. After several minutes of inflating the rocket, he begins the countdown. The assistants, motivated by the engineer, begin to hum in unison: «five, four, three, two, one». The girl pulls with all her strength on the rope and in a matter of milliseconds the rocket is fired towards the top of the tent. The group of parents and children applaud with all their might after the demonstration.
By his side, and thanks to the support that the Fair has received this year from the Cepsa Foundation, is the group of engineering students who have joined the Formula Student ULL Dynamics team, (FSULLDynamics), participants in several national competitions in the who have demonstrated the power of their electric racing vehicle, the first in the Islands. At this fair, which has served as a showcase, the team has not only shown its innovative project to society, but also put a motorcycle with the same characteristics on display for all who passed by.
Highlights include a visit to space in virtual reality and the view of the celestial dome through the planetarium
Chemistry, math and volcanoes
“We study atoms, do you know what they are?” a young Chemistry researcher from the ULL asks a little boy who has been attracted by the crystals of different colors and sizes that are displayed on the table. The boy hesitates for several seconds. He glances at his mother for approval and in an almost imperceptible whisper he replies: “it is the smallest thing, what forms everything.” “Correct!” snaps the scientist. The boy looks remarkably relieved and visibly happy that he hit the nail on the head. Taking advantage of the fact that he has his attention, the chemist begins an extensive explanation about his work in the laboratory. What they do is break down matter and turn it into small colored crystals. In a test tube, a viscous liquid keeps blue crystals that resemble ice flakes. “It’s my favourite,” the researcher reveals to the little boy.
Mathematics is also an essential part of the Science Fair and this year they have returned with all kinds of logic and calculation games. “It’s not real magic, but it looks like it,” a girl explains to her grandmother after playing three in a row where the chips are frogs and some queens that are eaten horizontally. But for “magic” the one that was done in the two children’s shows scheduled for the day. The mad scientist, who is already part of the traditional cast of the Faircarried out several experiments – some of them explosive – that captured the attention of dozens of attendees.
The study of volcanoes It has also gained relevance this year. It is not surprising, since the recent eruption of La Palma still holds many mysteries for those who could not see it up close. There are three research groups with different offers for the public that range from pyroclastic samples, videos of the eruption, the narration of personal experiences or even the exhibition of the operation of the devices used in field work. A young man approaches the Telesforo Bravo Foundation stand where all kinds of already solidified lavas are exhibited. On the table lie large pahoehoe and AA lava rocks, pyroclastic bombs and stones that hide olivine inside, a crystalline material that is found inside the Earth’s mantle and allows scientists to indirectly know what is at the bottom of the Earth. .
Thanks to this exhibition, for the first time, visitors can touch these volcanic rocks that for the canaries are as strange as they are close. In addition to samples of pyroclasts and other basaltic rocks, the IGN has developed a game with which children can learn to chop earthquakes. It is a usual work in institute that is based on knowing how to differentiate the seismic signals of the beginning and end of the earthquake. The Involcan scientists, for their part, worked hard to explain to the attendees the operation of the seismic stations and other types of processes in which they work, as well as providing the little ones with pictures to color.
But in the range of activities offered this year the science fair Two stand out: a trip in Virtual Reality to the International Space Station and a portable experience to see the celestial dome. In both, long queues formed due to the great demand throughout the day. The Science and Technology Park is in charge of taking the little ones to the space station through virtual reality glasses. With them they can immerse themselves in Space Explorer, a visit with which they can become astronauts and see the Earth, the Moon and the stars from a privileged place. The portable planetarium returned for another year proving that the fascination with the night sky never goes out of style. Children and adults waited several minutes in line to enter a completely dark dome on which a film about space and our galaxy was projected.
The La Orotava Science Fair once again demonstrates that society is increasingly interested in science and in learning about the advances with which Canarian researchers have achieved –or will achieve– improving life in the Archipelago.
