Once again this year, the Isla de la Cartuja Scientific Research Centre (cicCartuja) will be developing several initiatives aimed at the dissemination and popularisation of science at the 2018 Science Fair. The event will be held at the Seville Exhibition and Congress Centre (FIBES) on 3, 4 and 5 May 2018.

The main topics of this edition are the brain and neuroscience, the conservation of Biodiversity, and the commemoration of the European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018. The three research institutes that make up cicCartuja will each have a stand where live scientific demonstrations and explanations can be seen.

The Institute for Chemical Research (IIQ) will demonstrate that Chemistry promotes scientific, technological and social progress based on the principles of sustainable development. To this end, a series of highly visual practical experiments will be carried out, the aim of which is to illustrate how Chemical Science works: Formation of nylon thread, invisible ink, flubber, clock reactions, oscillating reaction, volcano, blue bottle or “the blue miracle”, molecular cuisine: “rainbow caviar and pearls”.

The Institute of Plant Biochemistry and Photosynthesis (IBVF) has decided to focus on the biodiversity and habitats of photosynthetic organisms. To do so, they will rely on a recreation of a real laboratory, where the different plants and photosynthetic microorganisms studied at the IBVF will be shown, both in bioreactors and in “in vitro”, hydroponic and soil cultures. In addition, an observation and identification activity of the photosynthetic organisms exposed through an optical microscope will be carried out. Visitors will be able to draw their own interpretation of what they observe in the microscope and display it on panels arranged ad hoc.

The Institute of Materials Science (ICMS) will focus on explaining how catalysis contributes to creating a better and more sustainable world. Although almost 80% of manufactured chemical products require the intervention of a catalyst and that decontamination catalysts are present in large industrial processes or in most vehicles, the chemical area of ​​catalysis remains unknown to the general public. The series of activities presented is intended to highlight the importance and everyday nature of this area of ​​research, which combines concepts of chemistry, materials science and engineering.

At the ICMS stand you will find the following panels and activities to learn more about catalysis.

Panel 1: What is Catalysis. Types of Catalysis

Panel 2: Catalysis in everyday life

Panel 3: Catalysis for the environment and Energy

BLOCK 1.

Activity 1: Molecular Models. Simple Reactions

Activity 2: Find the killer

Activity 3: This smells to me! . BLOCK 2

Activity 4: Decomposition of hydrogen peroxide. Three types of catalysis

Activity 5: An acetone and methanol stove. Transformation of chemical energy into thermal energy.

Activity 6: The hydrogen car. Transformation of chemical energy into electrical energy.

Activity 7: Light and Catalysis: Degradation of pollutants. Self-cleaning surfaces

The Science Fair is an educational and cultural project organized by the Andalusian Society for the Dissemination of Science, the Discover Foundation and the Teachers’ Centre of Seville. Its purpose is to create a space that allows the exchange, dissemination and communication of scientific knowledge, in which the actors-disseminators are the students of the educational centres, the teaching staff of the universities and the staff of the research centres and innovative companies.