Ciência Viva no Verão: Learning Vacation

There are 800 actions taking place during the summer, all with the seal of the Centers for Living Science (Centros Ciência Viva); there is everything from Dolphins on Sado river to descents down the most mysterious caves.

 

It is already a summer tradition in Portugal. The Living Science Summer Network (Rede Centros de Ciência Viva) program has been organized for 22 years by Ciência Viva in collaboration with more than a hundred scientific institutions, Centros de Ciência Viva, associations, municipalities and companies. It began on July 15 and will run until September 15.

"A Journey to the Centre of Earth", picture by Teresa Paula Martins Quaresma. On the opening picture, "Cabo Carvoeiro - Portuguese Seaside Birds", one of this years events

 

This year, the most awaited scientific program of the summer season opened the inscriptions at 15:00 on the 15th and in the first five minutes there were already 1,192 enrolled. An hour later the number of participants was already 3,233, and now, on the day I write this article, the inscriptions are already almost 8,000.

"Guincho and Sintra, a Geological History", picture by Ana Gomes

 

The Living Science Program - National Agency for Scientific and Technological Culture - was created in 1996 by the Portuguese Ministry of Science and Technology, and has been since its inception a banner assumed by the minister and his mentor, Mariano Gago.

It is composed by a network of interactive Centres of scientific dissemination, spread throughout the country, and aims to awaken the interest for the science of the entire population, especially among the younger level.

The Living Science in the Summer is thus one of the most representative actions that the Living Science Centres - with other partners - brings to the citizens.

A tomb, at "Digging the Past" event, picture by Hélder Pereira

 

Registration in any of the more than 800 initiatives of the program is done on the site Ciência Viva, more precisely here. The registration is done directly in the link of each event, after having created a personalized password.

Warning, if you have a password for past issues you cannot use it, you must create a new one for Live Science in the Summer 2018.

"Electricity Factories at Alto do Lindoso", picture by Marta Sousa

 

These more than 800 actions are for all ages and run throughout the country, always in the company of experts in each action.

This year, the emphasis is on rivers and their ecosystems, and the services they continue to provide us, despite the enormous environmental impacts to which we subject them.

 

Among the immense offer of this year, there is visit an oyster and clams' maternity, at the Experimental Station of Molusciculture of Tavira, a "Fielsketching" activity, that is, observation and drawing of species on the bank of the river Ave, a boat trip on river Sado guided by a biologist and a fisherwoman to discover the estuary dolphins, or a night tour in the Ria Formosa in a solar boat (that practically does not make noise), to observe the stars.

"Guided Tour at Rossio Train Station", picture by Lúcia Almeida Marques

 

To see everything, by date and place, the site has an interactive infographic that allows an easy and quick search of future events, please go to www.cienciaviva.pt.

 

 

Images from past editions taken from the institutional site, all made by event attendees.