UNR opened its doors for the first time during winter break and the response was extraordinary. Thousands of girls and boys had their encounter with science, art and technology in "Visible the invisible".
For the first time the Universidad Nacional de Rosario opened its doors during winter holidays with the proposal “Visible the invisible” and the response was extraordinary. From July 11 to 13, girls and boys of all ages, and their families, lived the experience of art, science, stories, and virtual reality at the University Cultural Space (ECU), at San Martín 750.
Some 600 people per day filled the workshops, the stands, the technological stations specially designed so that each of the attendees has an encounter with science in a direct, simple way: to see behind a microscope, to learn about the planets, to play to choose a profession, design their own constellation, chase satellites with 3D glasses, investigate the properties of fruits or be part of the characters in Cuenta Ciencia, the UNR Editora collection.
As soon as the doors opened on Monday at 14:XNUMX p.m., the recreational spaces began to fill up and the ECU was filled with laughter, bullfights, and jumping for joy from the girls and boys who were already starting off happy when choosing their future profession: in the first stand could choose the clothes with which they imagine themselves in a few years: doctor, cook, scientist, teacher, hairdresser, athlete, but the story did not end there. Immediately they took a photo of you that could be taken on paper with a personalized sticker signature.
The first workshop, "Libreciencia: making the invisible visible", had such a call that it was given twice since it had overflowed with participants, it was led by Dr. Betiana Garavaglia who led a long table of boys and girls to unveil " What is hidden in the fruits? The experiment was with jellies and the conclusions were also shared with the parents.
The permanent workshop "Lazos de estrellas" was developed during the three days with specialists from the Municipal Astronomical Observatory. In a very dark sector, the boys and girls were able to create their own constellations, give them names and see them shine behind luminous windows.
"What is time?", was another of the most attended workshops, is that questions about time haunt humanity since its creation, the boys and girls came with their questions that found some answers from science, philosophy , poetry and of course, from common sense. The activity was coordinated by Dr. Bernardo Gómez.
"How to keep the rain in your pocket?", was the last of the workshops, on Wednesday, with poetry as the protagonist, with phrases and ideas launched by the little ones who, with the help of Dr. María Belén Campero, they could imagine hundreds of ways to catch the water. “The amazing world of microorganisms” with Dr. Cecilia Di Capua, closed the schedule of work spaces in which girls and boys participated for half an hour in the task of inspecting cells that cannot be seen with the naked eye.
Precisely the microscopes to see hairy spiders, ants, mosquitoes and other insects were the stars of these days "Visible the invisible", is that the possibility of looking through "a giant but small magnifying glass" -as one of the children described- provokes such astonishment that as soon as they finished looking, they went back to line up again to see closer and closer.
On the other side of the huge marble columns of the ECU, technology was taking over the space and the crowd just wanted their minute of time to navigate through the huge virtual reality headsets. Planets, deserts, sands, mountains, inhospitable territories, colored skies could be seen. Some were dizzy from so much novelty, others wanted more.
In the center of the scene was the stand of "Cuenta Ciencia" with the charming clown "Cuchara" who kept the attention of huge groups with a bingo with images of the science collection that gave the winners more books about Nacho, Matías and Emilio, the characters of stories for childhoods published by the UNR Editora and the Department of Science Communication of the university.
Back, closing type, you could write letters that will be opened in the future, the proposal caught everyone and the transparent mailboxes exploded with desires. Time, the present, what will come, what is not visible, what seems to have no explanation were some of the topics that were addressed in this first edition of "Visible what is visible", which promises to return.
Journalist: Micaela Pereyra / Photographer: Camila Casero