The Science Museum of Valencia hosts on Sunday, April 21, between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., the 19th Experimenta Fair-Competition of Experiments and Demonstrations of Physics and Technology. The event, organised by the Faculty of Physics of the Universitat de València (UV), is a science festival that brings together thousands of people every year and brings physics and technology closer to secondary school students and the public generally in a creative and participatory way.
Experimenta, which has the collaboration of the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology of the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, among other entities, will bring together more than 300 students and teachers. Free access, and for all types of visitors, it will have 74 stops, with different experimental STEM projects developed by ESO and high school students, with the help of their teachers. The public will be able to ask about the operation of any of the experiments. At the same time, the children’s public will be able to approach the Fisicalàndia workshop, where simple demonstrations based on natural phenomena will be built and understood.
Experimenta, in addition to the fair, is a competition in which the best projects are awarded, including the most voted by the public. A jury made up of university and secondary school teachers will evaluate the good functioning and, above all, the correct understanding of the works and the clarity of the explanations.
As a novelty, this year the financial endowment of the prizes increases: the four members of the jury reach €600 for a group of 4 participants (€150/participant) and that of the public, to €400 for a group of 4 members (€100/participant). Among the recognitions, gifts will also be given to teachers with winning projects and the Ministry of Education recognises this extraordinary dedication to its students as hours of scientific school research project. These awards will be presented between 1.30pm and 2.30pm at the Santiago Grisolía Auditorium. The event will be preceded by a short scientific interlude by students of the Degree in Physics from the Photonets group.
In the explanations, students (individually or in groups of up to four people) must highlight the relationships between natural phenomena and technological applications, that is, between physics and technology. The works are classified into two thematic categories: on the one hand, physics demonstrations and experiments, and, on the other, technological application projects. These are subdivided into two depending on the educational cycle (ESO and high school/Formative Cycles).
The organising committee of the Experimenta fair-contest is formed by Chantal Ferrer Roca, professor of the Department of Applied Physics and Electromagnetism of the UV and coordinator of the fair-contest, and professors Jordi Vidal Perona, Miguel V. Andrés Bou and Amparo Pons Martí.
“It should be noted that, as has also happened in past years, women make up more than half of the participants (53% this year). This participation is extraordinary in the field of experimental STEM projects and in particular physics and technology. In addition, we have a large number of collaborators (50), the majority of whom are voluntary students from the Faculty of Physics and a jury made up of 30 people, both university and secondary school teachers. Also in this case more than half are women”, points out Ferrer. Centres from Valencia, the Valencian Community and other provinces participate, and this year there are three projects from an educational centre in Sweden as a novelty.
Among the personalities whose presence is planned are the Principal of the Universitat de València, Mavi Mestre, and the Dean of the Faculty of Physics of the UV, Enric Valor.
Experimenta was born in 2005 with the aim of involving students in the World Year of Physics in an active and creative way. The extraordinary enthusiasm of contestants and visitors in this first call helped to turn it into an annual event that has grown over the years and has become a reference and tradition as a scientific fair in the city of Valencia and the Valencian Community.
This initiative has a competitive project from the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology of the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (FECYT-MICIN), in addition to the collaboration of other entities, such as the Science Museum of Valencia, the City Council of Valencia or the Royal Spanish Society of Physics. On the behalf of the UV, it is supported by the Corpuscular Physics Institute (IFIC), the Scientific Culture and Innovation Unit (UCC+i), the Delegation for Incorporation to the UV, the Sanchis Guarner Training and Quality Centre, the Equality Unit, the Archimedes Physics Working Group and Expociència.
More information about Experimenta:
https://ir.uv.es/experimenta/feria
https://ir.uv.es/experimenta/fira
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