“Nanociencia para contar”, the new outreach project of IMDEA Nanociencia supported by FECYT
28.10.2021
- The IMDEA Nanociencia’s outreach Project “Nanociencia to-go” expands its audience to the elderly institutionalised in residences.
- This project once again receives the support of the FECYT in the grants Call for the Promotion of the Scientific Culture 2020.
Madrid, October 28th, 2021. The dissemination project "Nanociencia to-go" was classified by its participants as "a great initiative to disseminate with amenity issues that are little known from the work of scientists" and "very interesting, excellent, very pleasant and the whole team a wonder". These two participants are two of the students from the University of Experience of the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM), and the Autonomous University of Madrid, respectively, who attended the 2nd and 3rd edition of these dissemination days. Due to the pandemic emergency, the activity was held telematically, although this did not prevent the older students from enjoying Nanoscience from their homes. And this was done by the Communication and Dissemination Office at IMDEA Nanociencia, sending to the students the experiences kits, through the professors of the Universities of Experience, with which they would experience Nanoscience at home.
Given the success of this initiative, IMDEA Nanociencia raised a new challenge: to reach the oldest, those elderly institutionalized in residences that have more difficulties to access science. With this objective in mind, the IMDEA Nanociencia Dissemination Office teamed up on this occasion with Dr. Josefa Ros, postdoctoral researcher at the UCM, specialist in Boredom Studies and Julián Marías 2020 award of the Comunidad of Madrid, to bring science to a wider audience and at the same time help address boredom in nursing homes, factor that is believed behind the deterioration in aging.
In this way, the dissemination project "Nanociencia para contar" has born, with the aim of bringing Nanoscience closer to the elderly by increasing the scientific culture of a greater number of sectors of society. The project aims to turn those over 55 into agents transmitting the information to their grandchildren, and beyond to other relatives to share a moment together around science. On one hand, the activities aimed at students of the Universities of Experience will continue to be held in a format of virtual guided tours and online workshops. And on the other hand, the pilot project "Nanociencia entretenida" will be aimed at people living in nursing homes, in which the IMDEA Nanociencia Dissemination team will offer the science days. The elderly will be able to approach science as an activity outside their usual routine: scientific themed films will be revisited, there will be debates and virtual visits to the IMDEA Nanociencia facilities, and simple scientific experiences will be carried out.
With this project, IMDEA Nanociencia will facilitate the participation of society, reaching out one of the least common sectors in this type of dissemination activities, and will promote scientific education, both formally and informally. With this, an approach to science is expected through resources (experience kits) that maintain the interest of the topics treated in the domestic sphere. As secondary objectives, it will seek to diversify the activities offered to the elderly and help alleviate boredom in this population sector. IMDEA Nanociencia is once again supported by the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT) through its Grants for the Promotion of Scientific Culture.
Reference:
https://www.convocatoria.fecyt.es/Publico/Resolucion/resolucion.aspx
Contact
IMDEA Nanociencia - Outreach Office
divulgacion.nanociencia [at] imdea.org
Twitter: @imdea_nano
Facebook: @imdeananociencia
Instagram: @imdeananociencia
Source: IMDEA Nanociencia