More than 2.500 participants in the 21st Fair-Competition Experimenta 2026, organized by the Faculty of Physics of the Universitat de València (UV) and held this Sunday, April 26 at the Science Museum of Valencia, with 74 STEM projects that which involved more than 300 participants, including high school students and teachers. The UV Principal, Juan Luis Gandía, participated in the awards cereony, in the Santiago Grisolía auditorium of the Museum. There was also a brief scientific interlude, “Bringing Science into Fashion,” led by Marc Santandreu, a meteorologist at RTVE and a former student of the Faculty of Physics at the Universitat de València. In total, including both visitors and organizers, some 3,000 people participated in Experimenta.
The institutional panel presenting the awards and certificates included Juan Luis Gandía, rector of the Universitat de València (UV); Enric Valor, dean of the Faculty of Physics (UV); Sergio Pastor, institutional director of the Institute of Corpuscular Physics (IFIC), a joint center of the UV and the CSIC; Miguel Ángel Sanchis, vice president of the Royal Spanish Society of Physics (RSEF); Míriam Atienza, director of content at the City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia; Yolanda Vicedo, president of the Association of Technology Teachers of the Valencian Community (APTCV) and technology teacher; and Pablo Nacenta, president of the RSEF’s Division of Physics Education and Outreach.
The awarded projects on the 21st Experimenta Fair-Competition were, in the category of physics experiments and demonstrations for the first cycle of ESO, *Lights, Camera, Scattering! *, by Sofía Aroca Zarcos, Luzia Do Barreiro Roldán, and Celia García Barrachina (8th grade at IES Beatriu Civera in Aldaia). The honorable mention went to “Light Busters,” by Aitana Gómez Pérez and Joan Díaz García, 8th grade students at IES Joan Fuster (Sueca). In the upper secondary cycle (9th and 10th grades), the prize went to the project “Aules que respiren,” by Irene Izquierdo Casinos, Ruth Lázaro Folgado, Blanca Ortigosa Heras, and Claudia Muelas Pérez (10th grade at IES Massamagrell). As for the four honorable mentions, they went to the following projects: ¨Defensa davant terratrèmols i riuades: la Fisica com a escut¨ (IES l’Eliana); ¨Eletromagnetismo bajo control. The magnet that can be slowed down and sped up¨ (IES Massamagrell); ¨Donde la luz se esconde¨ (IES Peset Aleixandre de Paterna) y ¨Quan el móvil calla: el so com a sistema d’alarma en situacions d’emergència¨ (IES Massamagrell).
In addition, in the Technology Applications category for high school students, the award went to *The MIST-ERS*, by Elsa Claro Franco, Fiorella Lemos Pace, and Anna Pascual Devesa (11th-grade students at IES Joan Fuster in Sueca). The audience award went to the project ¨Las barreras salvan vidas¨ by Natalia Paredes Llopez, Nicolás Martínez Clemente, Jorge Cabello Ferriols, and Diego Izquierdo Durán (10th grade at CP Mariano Serra in Aldaia).
The tutors of the winning projects are: Diego Navarro Sanz (IES Beatriu Civera de Aldaia); Eva María Pérez Gómez, Jordi Esteve Garcia and Verónica Ibáñez Serra (IES Joan Fuster de Sueca); Eva Pérez Sánchez (IES Massamagrell); Carmen Rubio Alonso (CP Luis Vives de Sueca); as well as Ricardo Martínez Serrano y Jesús Asesio Ferrer (CP Mariano Serra d’Aldaia).
Participation in Expociencia
An additional award for all of the groups is an invitation to present their projects at EXPERIMENTA TOP, held in conjunction with Expociencia on May 9, and the videos recorded of their presentations will be made available online as open educational resources to help spread the word.
The Experimenta Fair-Competition is organized by the Faculty of Physics of the Universitat de València and is supported by the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT) – Ministry of Science, Innovation, and Universities, as well as other organizations and institutions.
Awards of Experimenta 2026 click here.
Video of the award ceremony 2026.
Captions attached:
- Photo 1 to 3, diverse moments from the Experimenta Fair
- Award ceremony, from lrft to right, at the table: Sergio Pastor, Miguel Ángel Sanchis, Enric Valor, Juan Luis Gandía, Miriam Atienza, Yolanda Vicedo y Pablo Nacenta. Presenta, de pie: Chantal Ferrer.
- Photo of the organizing staff of the Experimenta Fair and institutional representatives.
