The Science Courtyard: The UA's Summer Initiative for Schoolchildren

The new edition of 'The Science Courtyard' begins next Tuesday, July 1st, at the University of Alicante (UA) campus. Around 300 children and young people will participate in this programme, which promotes scientific culture every summer and brings science closer in a playful and innovative way.

Specifically, on July 1st, 11th, and 15th, three scientific shows will be held, featuring prestigious science communicators with impressive demonstrations that will undoubtedly delight and entertain attendees. Each day is divided into two sessions: from 10 to 11 for children aged 7 to 9, and from 12 to 13 for schoolchildren aged 10 to 16, in the Alfredo Orts Hall of the Optics building at the UA.

Family members or curious individuals can also attend, and although preference is given to young participants of the UA Summer School, entry is free until full capacity is reached.

On Tuesday, July 1st, Pol Landman, a mathematician, STEM educator (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics), and co-director of eXplorium, the scientific leisure association in Barcelona that organises workshops, extracurricular activities, and camps where STEM disciplines take centre stage, will present the show 'Les bombolles de l'Anton, unes bombolles matemàtiques'. Landman will reveal the science behind soap bubbles and help deduce their mathematical implications. Through conjectures about mathematical problems, participants will be able to solve them with various bubble experiments.

On Friday, July 11th, 'Light and Colour' will be presented by José Benito Vázquez, a professor of Applied Physics at the University of Vigo. The professor is also an expert in didactics and a promoter of the so-called manipulative learning of physics. Through this pedagogical methodology, students become aware that physics is everywhere, and that education and research allow us to enjoy an easier and simpler life as we currently have in such a technologically advanced world. In 2023, he received the RSEF-BBVA Award for Teaching and Dissemination of Physics (University Teaching).

Finally, on Friday, July 18th, 'Amazing Science' will be presented by Mercedes Pastor, a professor of Inorganic Chemistry at the UA. Her research focuses on advanced materials and surface treatments of polymers (chemical, plasma, ultraviolet, corona, etc.) for applications in catalysis, environment, and energy. The professor regularly participates in conferences and outreach workshops in primary and secondary schools in Alicante and in scientific experience competitions organised by the UA. She is the author of the chapter 'I Want to Be a Chemist' in the popular science book 'Science, and I Want to Be a Scientist!!!'.

During the first four Wednesdays of July, on the 2nd, 9th, 16th, and 23rd, the scientific workshops 'Jocs de Ciència' will also be held for the children and young people of the UA Summer School in the GE/2-08M Geography Classroom (Faculty of Philosophy and Letters II).

The youngest participants will be able to conduct their own experiments and, guided by students from the UA Faculty of Sciences, understand their scientific significance. Through observation and experimentation, the scientific method is introduced as an effective tool for finding answers in each experiment and promoting critical thinking.