1500 high school students learn at the Faculty of Biotechnology
The Open Week of the Faculty of Biotechnology takes place from 19 to 21 April, at the Biotechnology Building of the Porto Regional Centre of the Universidade Católica.
Future packaging from olive leaf and shrimp shell 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 School of Biotechnology of the Universidade Católica Portuguesa. For three days, between 19 and 21 April, they will discover the many stimulating facets of biotechnology in its broadest sense.
"The Open Week is an initiative that mobilizes teachers, researchers and students of the faculty 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 School of Biotechnology. "Over 20 years we have already received more than 30,000 high school students in this annual initiative that disseminates bioengineering, microbiology, nutrition and biomedicine to a younger public," she adds.
There are almost 30 programmed activities and students will be able to discover, for example, what is hidden in the food they eat every day, either healthy or not so good! They become detectives who unravel the mystery of a food outbreak and find out if they can organise their fridge. They will also go in search of the aromas present in food, while trying not to be fooled, 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 analysing their bioelectronic impulses. To care for chronic wounds they will discover solutions that are original, to say the least, and to shop 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 seriously our responsibility to transmit knowledge to the community. Throughout the year we mark moments that raise scientific literacy: from the biotechnology olympics to the ocean defence contest, from the invitation for a week of immersion in nutrition to the meeting to know the reality of scientists' lives, there are countless initiatives and the reaction of schools, teachers and students is always gratifying".