‘Physics Month’ is being held on 16, 23, 24 and 25 September, in conjunction with undergraduate Physical Engineering students at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya - BarcelonaTech (UPC)
The Avió aeroplane ride, the Tibidabo Express train ride and the Piratta pirate ship ride are incorporating QR codes with physics tests and experiments for everyone
Tibidado will also be playing host to several shows and an escape room set in a laboratory from the start of the 21st century highlighting the role of women scientists in developing and applying the theory of relativity
The project is part of a partnership under which the BSM and the UPC are jointly promoting science and technology vocations at several educational stages
The physicist Albert Einstein visited Barcelona in 1923 and went up to the top of Tibidabo mountain to enjoy its impressive views of the city. A hundred years later, marking the start of the school year, the Amusement Park and the bachelor's degree in Physical Engineering from the Barcelona School of Telecommunication Engineering (ETSETB) at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya – BarcelonaTech have joined forces to launch “Physics Month”, an innovative science-activities programme for everyone.
The activities are being held on Saturday, 16 September and also from 23 to 25 September, at the same time as the La Mercè festivities. Outreach activities, experiments and shows with physics as their star attraction will be paying homage to the career of the famous scientist, awarded the Nobel Prize in 1921.
“Physics Month” starts on Saturday, 16 September, at 5 pm. Albert Einstein will be taking the Cuca de Llum funicular to travel up to the top of the mountain. Accompanied by the Tibidabo Mascots, he will have the honour of inaugurating the activities at a big party full of music and surprises.
Albert Einstein al Tibidabo
Attractions such as the Avió, Tibidabo Express and Piratta will be inviting members of the public on Saturday, 16 September, to experiment with physics. Using various QR codes and receiving support from Physical Engineering undergraduates from the UPC, kids and adults will have to get through several tests to investigate the time the Piratta pirate ship takes to move from side to side, the speed of the Tibidabo Express and the duration of the Avió aeroplane ride's slow and fast loops. After they have finished their calculations, visitors can enter their results into the Physics Month website and ask volunteers from the Physical Engineering faculty to stamp their Science Passport. Once their passport is complete, they will become official scientists in Tibidabo’s BI Mascot team.
The QR codes will become a permanent fixture in the attractions, after Physics Month has ended, so that children visiting the Park from now on will be able to complete these tests with help from their companions.
Whoever visits Tibidabo Amusement Park during the long La Mercè weekend, from 23 to 25 September, will also be able to enjoy an escape room. The CreaTibi Robotics room is to become a physics lab from the start of the 21st century, where visitors will need to get through several tests introducing them to the role played by women scientists in the development and application of the theory of relativity. The escape room will be available to small groups in several sessions, from 3.30 pm to 6.30 pm.
In addition to these initiatives, visitors will also have the chance to immerse themselves even further into science at two shows. Sunday, 24 will see a performance of “Les tres neurones” [The three neurons], a show from the Open Brains company offering a fun explanation of how the human nervous system works. Monday, 25 will see a performance of “MateMusiC: els secrets de la corda” [the secrets of strings], a participatory show resulting from a collaboration between the Moby Dixie band and scientists at the UPC, which will be showing how music is based on mathematics. Both shows will be performed at Plaça del Jardí at 1 pm, 3 pm and 5 pm.
The first edition of “Physics Month” is an initiative launched under a BSM and UPC partnership working jointly to promote science and technology vocations among new generations.
