Stimulating scientific production among elementary, high school and technical school students from public and private schools. This was one of the goals of the Science Fair and Scientific Exhibitions held by the Santos Dumont Institute (ISD) on the 17th and 18th of this month. The event was attended by more than a thousand children and teenagers from different cities in Rio Grande do Norte, who occupied the facilities of the Edmond and Lily Safra International Institute of Neuroscience (IIN-ELS), one of the ISD units in Macaíba.
During the two-day event, students presented their work in poster format (the same format used in scientific conferences), conducted experiments, participated in immersive workshops with different approaches and visited the ISD research laboratories. The program also included cultural presentations by students from the Quilombola Community of Capoeiras, in the rural area of Macaíba.
In one of the laboratories, students learned to observe cellular structures using microscopes. The activity was led by researchers and students from the Master's program in Neuroengineering. “The experience was really good, I'm learning a lot of things I didn't even know existed. I'm definitely going to enjoy studying science more from now on,” said Luíza Silva, 9 years old.
ISD CEO Reginaldo Freitas Jr. highlighted that the SNCT offers children and adolescents the opportunity to have contact with a scientific production environment and reinforced that the ISD is open to developing projects that strengthen teaching, research and extension. “This type of activity fills our hearts with joy. It brings us closer to the community that welcomes us, exemplifies the leading role of our researchers in taking science beyond the Institute and represents the fulfillment of the ISD's social mandate, which is to expand the frontiers of knowledge and transform lives.”
The ISD Science Fair and Scientific Exhibitions were part of the 21st National Science and Technology Week (SNCT), with support and resources from the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI) and the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq). This year, the national event had the theme “Biomes of Brazil: Diversity, Knowledge and Social Technologies”. The objective of the Week is to popularize science in the country, especially among students in public schools, promoting a space for reflection and dialogue, bringing together the scientific community, teachers, researchers, students and the general public.
“It is important to open a space for students from public and private schools to present their work in a scientific environment, as a way of encouraging them to develop projects that, in fact, become research in the future,” notes professor and researcher Andressa Radiske, coordinator of the fair.
Around 100 works produced by students were presented during the two days of programming. The best productions, evaluated by ISD researchers, were awarded medals and certificates.
ABOUT ISD
The Santos Dumont Institute is a Social Organization linked to the Ministry of Education (MEC) and includes the Edmond and Lily Safra International Neuroscience Institute and the Anita Garibaldi Health Education and Research Center, both in Macaíba. ISD's mission is to promote education for life, forming citizens through integrated teaching, research and extension actions, in addition to contributing to a fairer and more humane transformation of Brazilian social reality.
