The Centre for Research in Nanomaterials and Biomedicine (CINBIO) organises the first edition of the CinVigo Science Festival  

Vigo’s Puerta del Sol was packed with children enjoying one of the activities organised by CinVigo.  

During the penultimate weekend in April, Vigo’s centrally located Puerta del Sol square hosted a science fair – the only one of its kind in Galicia – organised by researchers from the University of Vigo’s Centre for Research in Nanomaterials and Biomedicine (CINBIO), a member of the CIGUS Network. CinVigo, as this science fair is known, featured a wide range of activities, as well as 55 stands exhibiting science projects carried out at Galician education centres. This initiative for the dissemination and promotion of science seeks to take the day-to-day activities of these centres out onto the city’s streets. An action that is fully aligned with the CIGUS Network’s mission of  positioning and visibilising the science of excellence carried out in Galicia on an international, national and regional level, as well as promoting scientific talent.

Under the slogan “Science on the street”, the centre of Vigo became an authentic science lab where the public of all ages had the chance to obtain a first-hand insight into the research conducted by CINBIO’s team of professionals. “As a benchmark research centre, our main objective is to multiply the return to society in the form of scientific knowledge, innovation and training of professionals. That is why, with initiatives like this, we try to stimulate vocations and increase society’s scientific culture, valorising science and securing the future of research”, explained Miguel Correa, the Centre’s Director and member of the event’s organising committee. This is the first edition of an event that will continue in the future: Miguel Correa went on to stress the desire for “CinVigo to become one of Vigo’s major events in which science is the protagonist”.

School science fair

One of the highlights of the programme was the science fair, in which around 200 young secondary school pupils presented their projects and competed for prizes. A total of 55 projects from 27 schools from all over Galicia took part in the competition. The stands provided the pupils with a space to display their experiments and provide explanations to members of the general public eager to find out more about them.  

The participating projects were previously selected by a scientific committee made up of CINBIO staff. The competition was open to all secondary schools, and included three levels and participation categories: Early Researchers, for years 1 and 2 of Compulsory Secondary Education (ESO) (12-13 years); Young Researchers, for years 3 and 4 of Compulsory Secondary Education (ESO) (14-15 years); and Teen Researchers for Baccalaureate years 1 and 2 (16-17 years).

The winners of this first edition were as follows: Early Researchers: the pupils from  the  San José School in Ourense for their project entitled “The feasibility of post-fire reforestation using   heeliseeding or seed bombs”, for which they received a console; the pupils from the Carlos Casares High School, who will have the chance to take part in another science fair after coming first in the Young Researchers category for their prototype of a battery car; and the pupils from A Guía High School in Vigo, who will receive free university enrolment and a tablet for their project “Researchers for a few days”, in the Teen Researchers category.  

Activities for all the family

The rest of the programme was made up of a wide range of activities, from children’s science workshops to magic shows, monologues and a field day to test the scientific knowledge of the younger participants.