More than 11,000 schoolchildren from all over Spain have been able to enjoy the experiments of "La maleta periódica" in their schools. Chemistry of "The Periodic Suitcase", project promoted by the Science Museum of the University of Navarra and supported by the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT) and the Ministry of Science and Innovation.  

Cristina Sola, manager of project, has been very satisfied with the participation of schools and for fulfilling the main goal to bring science to new generations.

"The goal of project is to provide material to bring the Chemistry in a visual and surprising way to the classrooms of Secondary and high school diploma. Despite the difficulties we have encountered since the end of last year due to the health status , the participating centers are relying on it to motivate schoolchildren with simple and spectacular activities that arouse their curiosity," says Sola. 

"La maleta periódica" started in 2019 with three different types of participation: "La maleta periódica es tuya" (The Periodic Suitcase is yours) - experiment suitcases were delivered to 25 schools in Navarra for teachers to carry out the experiments at classroom- in which more than 7,000 schoolchildren have participated; "La maleta periódica visit tu centro" (The Periodic Suitcase your school) - a graduate of Chemistry of the University of Navarra visit the center on request and performs the experiments - with a participation of more than 2,000 students from 47 different centers throughout Spain (ten Autonomous Communities); and "Come and see the periodic suitcase", modality which has been developed through the activities of the Science Museum of the University of Navarra and has had a participation of more than 2,000 students.

Good acceptance of project in Navarra

The Science Museum delivered 25 suitcases to 25 different schools in the Comunidad Foral, each one of them equipped with the necessary material to carry out the different chemical experiments at classroom. The suitcases contained the necessary reagents for the execution of the experiments, the protocol for each of these tests, as well as a conceptual table indicating the science topics related to these experiments.

The project "The Periodic Suitcase" has been well accepted in the classrooms of Navarre. For José Zulaica, teacher at IES Iturrama, the suitcase material has seemed useful: "it makes work much easier for us, it fits perfectly in any of the Secondary courses, and it is a guaranteed success with the student body". result A ntxón Zablaza, professor in Ikastola Jaso, points in the same line: "I think that this project brings students closer to the world of Chemistry in a simple, clear, rigorous and attractive way and allows us, especially the smaller centers, to have both theoretical and material support that otherwise would have been very difficult to achieve". And Sara Pardo, teacher at Teresianas de Calahorra: "The students are very grateful to see that what they have studied theoretically has real applications".

The project has also been well received by students from different grades: "I found it very interesting to see this experiment on class and I did not imagine that different colors would come out and that it would look so good"; "seeing it in slow motion was very cool. We should do many more. From that, I started looking for experiments to do at home".

The participating schools in the Comunidad Foral were the following: IES Iturrama, IES place de la Cruz, San Ignacio-Jesuitas, Irabia-Izaga, Dominicas Pamplona, Hijas de Jesús, Claret Larraona, Miravalles-El Redín, San Cernin, Liceo Monjardín, Maristas Pamplona, Escolapios, San Fermín Ikastola, Jaso Ikastola, IES Sancho III el Mayor (Tafalla), Escolapios (Tafalla), IES Valle del Ebro (Tudela), high school La Anunciata (Tudela), IES Toki Ona (Bera), IES Pedro de Atarrabia (Villava), Luis Amigó (Mutilva), IES Barañain (Barañain) and high school Santa Teresa (Calahorra).

The project "the periodic suitcase" is part of the STEM strategy of the Science Museum to make more attractive the teaching of subjects related to science, technology, engineering and mathematics. For this reason, the Museum will continue to promote the development of this activity for those centers that request it.