Future packaging made from olive leaves and shrimp shells and a Molecular Gastronomy Corner. These are two of the dozens of experiments that around 1500 secondary school students will be able to explore at the Faculty of Biotechnology at the Universidade Católica Portuguesa, in Porto. During three days, between April 19th and 21st, you will discover the many stimulating facets of biotechnology in its broadest sense.
“Semana Aberta is an initiative that mobilizes faculty, researchers and college students to, in a rigorous and at the same time light and even fun way, demonstrate that science is present in our lives and contributes decisively to our health and well-being,” points out Paula Castro, director of the Faculty of Biotechnology. “Over 20 years we have welcomed more than 30,000 secondary school students to this annual initiative that promotes bioengineering, microbiology, nutrition and biomedicine to a younger audience,” she adds.
There are almost 30 activities planned and students will be able to discover, for example, what is hidden in the foods they eat daily, whether healthy or less good! They become detectives who unravel the mystery of a food outbreak and find out if they can organize the fridge. They will also go in search of the aromas present in the food, while trying not to be deceived, because not everything is what it seems! They will learn more about water and how it makes life possible, about using waste to create new foods and medicines, and about analyzing its bioelectronic impulses. To take care of chronic wounds, they will discover solutions that are at least original, and to go shopping at the supermarket, they will have to discover tricks that reveal the truth lost in advertising.
The director of the Faculty of Biotechnology also mentions: "We take our responsibility of transmitting knowledge to the community seriously.
Throughout the year we mark moments that raise scientific literacy: from the biotechnology olympics to the ocean defense competition, from the invitation to a week of immersion in nutrition to the meeting to learn about the reality of scientists' lives, there are countless initiatives promoted and the reaction of schools, teachers and students is always revealed gratifying."
The Open Week of the Faculty of Biotechnology takes place from the 19th to the 21st of April, at the Biotechnology Building of the Universidade Católica Portuguesa, in Porto.
