Arona and the University of La Laguna celebrate the III Festival of Science of Arona, in the Civic Center of El Fraile. Nearly 800 Primary and Secondary schoolchildren participate in workshops on marine biology, biodiversity and the environment, chemistry or science applied to fine arts, as well as in talks by senior researchers Nereida Rancel (Botany), Carina González (Education and ICT ) and Antonio Eff Darwich (Astrophysics).
The attending students come from the Parque la Reina, Luis Álvarez Cruz, La Estrella and Pérez de Valero schools, as well as the Luis Diego Cuscoy and Las Galletas institutes. Until tomorrow, Friday, they will tour the 12 demonstrative stands that make up the festival, in which it is about experimenting with science and technology at the hands of doctoral students and young researchers from the ULL.
Within the framework of the Science and Technology Laboratory of the ARN Innova Program, the activity was inaugurated by the mayor of Arona, José Julián Mena; the Rector of the University of La Laguna, Rosa Aguilar Chinea, and the Councilor for Economic Promotion, Raquel García. “We bring the ULL so that our young people can develop their talent, their curiosity, their learning capacity and learn first-hand the importance of science to build a better and more sustainable world and that this knowledge is later invested in Arona”, reflects Mena. .
This festival is part of the MacaroNight 2022 post-activities program (European Night of Macaronesian researchers), an initiative promoted by La Palma Research Center, the Sociedade Afonso Chaves-Associação de Estudos Açoreanos, the Science Park Foundation Technological of the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, the University of Madeira, General Foundation of the University of La Laguna. It is co-financed by the European Commission under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA); initiative to promote scientific careers in Europe, which is part of Horizon Europe, the Framework Program for Research and Innovation of the European Union;
The ARN INNOVA Science and Technology Laboratory
The “III Program for the promotion of business innovation in the municipality of Arona, RNA INNOVATES” is a joint initiative of the Arona City Council, the University of La Laguna and its General Foundation, with the aim of providing the citizens and the citizens of Arona of the tools and knowledge necessary to define or improve innovative products and services; promote scientific and technological vocations among the youth and schoolchildren of the municipality and create a meeting space and common use in the Business Center of Las Galletas.
One of its lines of work is the ARN INNOVA Science and Technology Laboratory, for the citizens of the municipality, hand in hand with the participation of research staff from the University of La Laguna.
This line has been developed since February 2022, more than 1,500 schoolchildren from 12 schools in the municipality have participated at the primary, secondary, baccalaureate and FP levels, within the program “Approach Science with the ULL in Arona ”, giving a total of 65 workshops, throughout the year, in various areas of knowledge.
The participating centers were: CEIP Buzanada, CEIP Cabo Blanco, CEIP El Fraile, CEIP Luis Álvarez Cruz, CEIP La Estrella, CEIP Parque de la Reina, CEIP Pérez de Valero, Colegio Echeyde III, IES Ichasagua, IES Las Galletas, IES Los Cristianos and IES Luis Diego Cuscoy.
