The initiative was born in the 2005-2006 academic year with three basic objectives. On the one hand, bring the Universitat closer to secondary centres, making available for students and teachers the knowledge, resources, classrooms and laboratories of the Faculty of Biological Sciences. It also aims at encouraging interaction and joint work between secondary teachers and university professors and, especially, to stimulate the study of biology among the secondary school students. 

Given the great demand for this activity, in this twelfth edition the Faculty has organized with the support of the Delegation for University Integration eight practices of two hours each, in which 700 students and professors from 58 secondary school centres will participate. 

Practices include studying the microorganisms that accompany people throughout their lives; the observation of the pollen that floats in the air and can cause rhinitis, among other diseases; or the direct observation of the chromosomes that determine the sex and of the changes caused by mutations in the chromosomes of flies. 

In the activity ‘Biology in your hands’ will also be studied the analysis of the diet of Valencian birds and mammals from their pellets and excrements; dissection of the brain and observation under the microscope of neurons with their axons and dendrites; or extraction of DNA using domestic products, such as pineapple juice, detergent or salt. In addition students and teachers will know the Valencian fossils and will participate in the excavation of an authentic deposit where the age of the pieces will be determined. 

From the Faculty of Biological Sciences it is expected that this year’s students will live the experience with the same enthusiasm of previous years. The activity functions thanks to the work of the Delegation for University Integration and the commitment of the teaching staff involved in the Faculty of Biological Sciences. These practices constitute a unique opportunity for young upper secondary school students to enjoy biology, admiring the wonders of life and the beauty of living beings in the facilities of the Faculty of Biological Sciences of the Universitat de València.

For more information: http://ir.uv.es/K7pnZ0e