La Universidad de Navarra celebra el Año de la Ciencia con actividades sobre cambio climático, evolución o biomedicina
The University of Navarra celebrates the "Year of Science" with activities on climate change, evolution or biomedicine
The Museum of Natural Sciences, which conserves two million specimens of species, celebrates an Open Doors Week starting Monday.
The University of Navarra has organized several activities to celebrate the "Year of Science", promoted by the Ministry of Education and Science to encourage scientific dissemination initiatives and knowledge dissemination . Among the events programmed are cycles of conferences, round tables, debates and competitions of scientific knowledge dissemination , which will deal with topics such as climate change, renewable energies, evolution or biomedicine.
The Museum of Natural Sciences will also be holding an Open Doors conference , aimed especially at primary and secondary school pupils. The collection, considered to be the most important in the university field in Spain, conserves more than two million specimens of different biological species. The Open Doors Week will be repeated in October and there are also plans to publish an educational guide for schoolchildren visiting the museum, as well as informative leaflets and CDs.
Among the activities of the "Year of Science", there will also be various informative talks on current topics of social interest with the participation of experts in the scientific field. For example, in October there will be a workshop on "The origin of man" with the participation of, among others, Daniel Turbón, Full Professor of Paleontropology and author of the book Human evolution.
In November there will be a Science Week, which will include sessions on the environment and climate change, renewable energies, biotechnology or biomedicine and health; and in December, coinciding with submission of the 2007 Nobel Prizes, a roundtable will be held on the discoveries of the award-winning scientists in Chemistry, Physics and Medicine.
Other initiatives include a course on Environmental Education , to be given in October and November, aimed at students, professionals in the sector and anyone interested in topic; and two activities on scientific photography: a contest open to the general public; and the exhibition of the sample "FotCiencia06", of the competition National Scientific Photography Contest.
Likewise, conference of Experimentation will be held, in which the students from high school diploma students will practice Biology, Biochemistry , Chemistry, Nutrition and Pharmacy; and activities such as the Ortiz de Landázuri Commemorative Lecture or the classroom Health of CIMA will be included.
The activities of the "Year of Science" at the University of Navarra have been organized by various centers - Medicine, Pharmacy, Nursing, research center Applied Medicine (CIMA) and University Clinic - coordinated by the School of Sciences. Its goal is "to bring 'real' science, that which is carried out by professionals, university professors and researchers, closer to society as a whole and especially to young people," explained Ignacio López-Goñi, Dean of this School. It also aims to awaken interest and vocation for science and technology, and to disseminate their benefits among the public.