Nearly five thousand people attended gabriela Mistral Cultural Centre on Sunday, October 6, to participate in the Eureka Festival, free scientific event re-alated as part of the celebration of the National Day of Science and Technology and which is part of the Science Festival (FECI) 2019.

With great success was Eureka, event organized by the Advanced Center for Chronic Diseases (ACCDiS ) through its PAR Explora RM North project, which is part of the celebration of the first version of the Science Festival (FECI).

The event began with the awarding of children, girls and teens winners of the "Create a green dot for your school" contests, "Social ScienceS Debate Workshop" and the "The Sun and I" Painting Competition for, subsequently, the official opening of the festival, at which point the Minister of Science took part, Technology, Knowledge and innovation, Andrés Couve; the Rector of the University of Chile, Ennio Vivaldi, project manager PAR Explora RM North, Mario Chiong and the director of the Advanced Chronic Disease Center, Sergio Lavandero.

Curiosity as a way of learning

The welcome on behalf of PAR Explora RM North was by Mario Chiong, who stressed the importance of curiosity for the development of society. "If there is a profession in which curiosity plays an important role, it is that of the scientific researcher, who just as boys and girls possess this beautiful ability to marvel at their surroundings and ask themselves 'why?'. Everything from there: from the naive ability to browse", commented the project manager.

On the other hand, the rector of the House of Bello, Ennio Vivaldi, stressed that "this event represents the joy of learning, the pleasure it represents for the human to understand what is unknown to him. That's the challenge ahead of us., also calling for the value of Chilean science and that there are no gender biases within it.

The Minister of Science, Technology, Knowledge and innovation, Andrés Couve, celebrated par Explora RM North's initiative to realize Eureka and called on those present to reflect on the importance of creating such a portfolio: "a few years ago we would not have been able to achieve an event of this magnitude, but this first FECI is a milestone that allows us to start showing that this is going to be a better country thanks to the existence of the Ministry of Science, that will make science accessible to all", said.

In both, director of ACCDiS, Sergio Lavandero, commented that "The event has seemed spectacular to me, there's an atmosphere of joy, it's awesome to see the kids waking up curiosity, to see the commitment of the people and families who have visited us".

Bringing science closer to society as a whole

Eureka attendees were very pleased with the initiative, which had scientific workshops and more than 30 stands with activities for all ages. Two conversations were added: one about the sun in the frame of the year Explores that celebrates the star, another on global warming under COP 25 and the making of a live mural with scientist and graffiti labeler Andro Montoya, to end with an electronic music show that was run by Mika Martini & Co-dec (Pueblo Nuevo Netlabel - Orion Network).

"It's a very new event for children, we came from Curicó and took advantage of participating in Eureka, to visit the stands and it has been interesting for them to learn science through teaching and very practical elements", commented Silvia, a mother who came with her children to enjoy the event.

Martina, 8-year-old, noted that "everything has been very entertaining and it's a different way to learn. I participated in the biomedicine stand and I also played with static, although my favorite science is astronomy".

Members of the participating institutions in Eureka were also pleased with the large crowd framework that visited Eureka. "It fits the theme of the year of the sun, since early they have visited our stand and there are many varied things, it's good to do free science and in a central location", vice-in-room Vicente Saavedra, national association of biochemistry students of Chile (ANEB).

In both, the president of Educleta, Andrés Santelices, another of the participating institutions, thanked PAR Explora RM North for the opportunity to participate in Eureka and commented that "I saw in the attendees - especially in the little ones- many eagerness to interact and to know the different possibilities offered by science and technology. In the end, interactive learning is the one that allows us to better understand the world around us".

Participating institutions

The Eureka Festival had more than 30 participating institutions: CIGIDEN, iBio Millennium Institute, Advanced Center for chronic diseases (ACCDiS ), Eolian Auto Solar, National Association of Biochemistry Students (ANEB Chile), THINKey, Chilean Mathematics Society, National Community of Science and Innovation (CON-SCIENCE), Manuel Foster Historical Observatory, PUC School of Biological Sciences, UC Biomedicine Portal, Chilean Agency for Food Safety and Quality (ACHIPIA), EXTENCIQYF, UC School of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Roan Jasé Observatory, Millennium Planetary Formation Core, Art+Science Foundation, Science Communication Center, Renata Foundation, Ideo Maker, Millennium Institute of Astrophysics (More), The Mars Society Chile, Planned Foundation, Educleta Chile, Institute of nutrition and food technology of the U. of Chile (INTA) Millennium Institute of Biomedical Neuroscience (BNI), Columbus Astronomy and Center for Sustainable Urban Development (CEDEUS).