USM researcher presents traveling exhibition on microscopic worlds

The exhibition “Microworlds, science and art in your hands” curated by Dr. Carolina Parra will be available at the Valparaíso Natural History Museum as a result of six scientific-artistic workshops developed in three public schools in the region.

USM Communications.- Bringing the community closer to the world of microorganisms through the arts is one of the objectives of the exhibition “Microworlds, science and art in your hands”, the traveling exhibition organized by the researcher of the Department of Mechanical Engineering of the Technical University Federico Santa María Carolina Parra, and that as of Thursday, July 20, it will be open to the public at the Natural History Museum of Valparaíso.

The exhibition is the result of the workshops “Nanobiomaterials, an interactive experience”, which was held at the Ernesto Quirós Weber, Alemania N°2 schools and the Matilde Brandau de Ross high school in Valparaíso during the second semester of 2022, in which the participants about 60 students from 4th to 8th grade. In these workshops run by the Nanobio USM group, the students immersed themselves in the world of microorganisms, developing manual and artistic works in relation to nanoscience.

Dr. Carolina Parra, who is also director of the Nanobiomaterials Laboratory and researcher at the Valparaíso Scientific and Technological Center, points out that “these activities, which connect science and art, are crucial to arouse curiosity in the unknown, which is the fundamental engine for scientific research”, further explaining that the exhibition works as a way of bringing people closer to a world invisible to the human eye.

In this regard, Dr. Parra considers that the sample has an informative value of science. “We not only seek to democratize its access, but also to motivate new generations to transform the world,” says the scientist, also emphasizing the impact that being one of the entities responsible for holding the event has for the USM. “Through these activities the university is linked to the region, not only to attract new generations of sansanas and sansanos, but also to strengthen ties with our regional communities,” she adds.

The exhibition, which was originally inaugurated in March of this year at the Extension Center of the Ministry of Arts, Cultures and Heritage, Centex, in Valparaíso, was developed with the support of CCTVal, in addition to the Valparaíso Natural History Museum. , the Topological Light Matter Ring Project of the Pontificia Universidad Católica e Ingeniería 2030, and will remain open until December 15, 2023. Its visiting days and hours are Tuesday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., while on Saturdays it is from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.