The exhibition takes us on a journey through the different lines of research at the institute, from elementary particles to cosmology, as well as the work carried out in the outreach area
20th December 2021
The Instituto de Física de Cantabria (IFCA), a joint centre of the Universidad de Cantabria (UC) and the CSIC, and the Autoridad Portuaria de Santander have inaugurated today the exhibition "De lo más pequeño a lo más grande" in the Palacete del Embarcadero, reviewing the history of the institute, which recently celebrated its 25th anniversary, and exploring the six areas of physics studied at the centre, from elementary particles to cosmological parameters, including computation, galaxies and climate, as well as its outreach work.
Opening ceremony took place this morning at the Palacete del Embarcadero in Santander and was attended by Eduardo García, Head of Cultural Activities of the Autoridad Portuaria de Santander; the Vice-Rector for Research and Science Policy of the Universitdad de Cantabria, Luigi Dell'Olio; the Vice-Director of Outreach of the IFCA, Jónatan Piedra, and Celso Martínez, representative of CSIC in Cantabria and researcher at the institute.
The exhibition, which can be visited from 21 December to 20th February 2022, invites visitors to take a tour of the six lines of study at the IFCA, illustrated by documents on relevant research, photographs from different periods of the centre and objects of great value, such as a rack that housed large amounts of data at the institute or a 1:9 scale model of the European Space Agency's Athena space observatory. In this way, the direction to visit the exhibition would be starting with Particles area, followed by Complex Systems, Computation and Data, Climate, Galaxies and ending with Cosmology. In addition, in one of the spots of the exhibition, several videos are projected showing the work of its Communication and Outreach Area with activities such as the Café Científico, Science Week or interviews with the staff.
For Francisco Martín, president of the Autoridad Portuaria de Santander, with this exhibition, 'De lo más pequeño a lo más grande', "the Palacete del Embarcadero resumes the exhibition line of scientific outreach, one of its hallmarks throughout its 36 years of history. After the Instituto de Hidráulica (2017) and the Prehistoric Research Institute (2019), the Palacete adds a new exhibition that brings the public closer to the work of a scientific institution that operates from Cantabria, but whose activity has a national and international impact and whose research groups face some of the most important challenges of today's society, such as climate change or artificial intelligence".
For José Manuel Gutiérrez, director of the institute, this exhibition is "an opportunity to exhibit in an emblematic place, such as the Palacete del Embarcadero in Santander, a sample of the activities we carry out at the institute, ranging from the smallest, elementary particles, to the largest, the Universe on a large scale. We invite you to come and see the images, videos and activities that make up the exhibition".
"With this exhibition we want to share what we do at the IFCA, showing the science and the beauty behind some of the international research in which we participate, as well as to sow or cultivate curiosity, we hope, in younger and younger people", explains Jónatan Piedra, vice-director of Outreach at the IFCA.
Workshops and guided tours
In addition to the exhibition, several workshops will be organised on galaxies, observation with the telescope, a virtual visit to CERN and the CMS experiment or the underground laboratory at Canfranc, the only surface in Spain isolated from the cosmic radiation that reaches the Earth's surface.
In addition, there will be guided tours of the exhibition from Saturday, January 15th until February 20th, 2022, from Tuesday to Saturday from 11:30-13:30 and from 17:00 to 20:00, and on Sundays from 11:30-13:30 (closed on Mondays).
Check the schedule of activities and all the information about registration to the activity at meapunto.unican.es.
