Imatge
Imatge
Nearly 600 students will be taking part in STEAM Zoo, a morning of science activities organised by Barcelona de Serveis Municipals (B:SM) and the East Barcelona School of Engineering (EEBE) at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia – BarcelonaTech (UPC)
The Zoo follows on from other iconic spaces managed by B:SM, such as the Parc del Fòrum, the Olympic Ring and Tibidabo, which have been working to promote science vocations among secondary-education students
STEAM projects (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths) make Barcelona an educational-innovation hub at the service of the city’s young talent
Barcelona Zoo will be hosting its first STEAM Zoo on 16 November, offering a morning of activities relating to biology and aimed at pupils in their first and second years at secondary school (ESO). Some 600 youngsters from various secondary schools in Barcelona and the metropolitan area will be taking part.
STEAM Zoo was launched jointly by Barcelona de Serveis Municipals (B:SM) and the East Barcelona School of Engineering (EEBE) at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia – BarcelonaTech (UPC), with the aim of promoting science vocations among young people, providing them with information on biology in a fun and yet academically rigorous way.
The various class groups participating in this science morning from 9.30 am to 1.30 pm will be able to enjoy three workshop activities run by Barcelona Zoo’s team of educators in collaboration with teaching and research staff from the EEBE at the UPC.
The first of these, entitled DNA in your hands, sees students extracting DNA from cells and even touching it. In What are we eating? youngsters will conduct a series of experiments to learn how what we eat is turned into energy. And in the third, Interpreting what we think, participants will be able to directly test how the body’s brain and muscles communicate with each other.
Students will also enjoy the participatory show The three neurones, where they learn how the cells making up nervous tissue function.
An educational innovation hub at the service of the city’s young talent
STEAM Zoo is part of a much broader educational project aimed at fostering an interest in science and technology beyond school classrooms. The initiative puts special emphasis on promoting science vocations among girls, helping to put an end to gender stereotypes.
This is the first time that Barcelona Zoo will host one of these day activities. This year’s STEAM gatherings, promoted in collaboration with the UPC, began at the Fòrum on 23 March, with over 1,500 4th-year ESO and baccalaureate students taking part. Next up was the Olympic Ring, in April, with over 1,500 2nd- and 3rd-year ESO students taking part. This was followed by Tibidabo, in May, which saw over 2,300 4th-year ESO and baccalaureate students taking part. More than 6,000 young people are estimated to have benefited from STEAM activities this year (2022).
These new sessions in the STEAM programme, have enabled B:SM to strengthen its commitment to making social and educational use of some of the iconic facilities it manages in the city.