Outreach
The NanoInventum 2022 winner school visits the ICMAB and the ICN2
On Friday, 14 April 2023, we received the visit of the "Sol i Lluna" school from Castellar del Vallès. The students aged 11-12 years old could experience some of the science at ICMAB and ICN2.
The students of the "Sol i Lluna" school in Castellar del Vallès participate in the project NanoInventum, in which they learn concepts of nanoscience and nanotechnology and have to create nanorobots with extraordinary properties to solve some of the problems of our live.
In last year's edition of the NanoInventum project, one of the prizes (the Technology Prize) was a visit to the ICMAB labs, to see how researchers work and to see some topics of nanoscience and nanotechnology.

Anna

The visit was established for this April 2023. On 14 April, the students could come to our Institute and visit our labs. Some of the students could also visit some of the labs and microscopy at the ICN2, our nextdoor neigbour center.
Sol i Lluna school students at ICMAB | ICMAB, CSIC
At ICMAB, the program consisted of:
- A first introductory talk by Anna May, in which ICMAB was presented, and also about who can be a scientist
- A talk by Roberta Ceravola on nanoscience and electron microscopy, in which the students could relate some micro/macro images
- The group was then divided in two groups. One group visited the ICN2 installations, and the other group, also divided in two, did a tour around four labs:
- With Xavi Campos they learnt the difference between crystal and amorphous materials and the X-ray diffraction technique
- With Nico Dix and Anna Vila they learnt the magnetic and electric properties of some materials and played around with magnets and ferrofluids
- With Mariana Köber they learnt how to prepare nanovesicles and characterize the particle size
- With Amanda Muñoz and Anna Laromaine they learnt what the nemtodes C. elegans are and how they are similar to humans
Sol i Lluna school students at ICMAB | ICMAB, CSIC
Thank you to all the people involved in the activity, the ICMAB staff, the school teachers and the NanoInventum project organizers, and to our colleagues from ICN2.
See some photos of the visit here
NanoInventum project
Nanoinventum is a project whose main objective is to incorporate science and nanotechnology in primary education. Through the creation of a course designed specifically for schools, we get students to become familiar with the language of science and cultivate their passion for nanotechnology.
The project is developed within the classroom, and is recommended for upper cycle students (from fourth to sixth grade). At the same time, teachers are trained and the aim is to link learning with the scientific curriculum of schools.
The Nanoinventum course is divided into four phases that are implemented over the course of a trimester: training, Nanoexplora experimental case, creation and evaluation of Nanorobots models and final presentation fair. In all of them, the pillars that support this project are applied: creativity, innovation, education, nanotechnology, commitment, research and students.
Read here our experience in NanoInventum 2022 with our researchers