110 volunteers from the center shared the joy of discovery with 350 visitors of all ages
Activities included games to understand genetics, a video introduction to cell culture, and this year also... how to build toy robots
The atmosphere at the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO) throughout European Researchers’ Night breathes enthusiasm. The center’s 110 volunteers are very familiar with the sheer joy of asking questions, searching for answers, and finally observing the results with amazement. They design the event to awaken or revive that same joy in the entire audience.
The 350 visitors of all ages who attended this year were welcomed by the center’s managing director, José Manuel Bernabé. In the Margarita Salas Auditorium, he reminded them that “science only makes sense if we do it together.”
From there, the audience could watch three phases of a experiment through live video connections with units at the center: the samples stored at -175º C in the cryogenic room, their transfer to the culture room, where a compound is added to them to find out if it is effective against cancer, and how the cells are stained in another laboratory to check whether or not the compound has worked.
This year, the surprise of the day was the R2KT robot, similar to R2D2 from Star Wars, and star of The Pink Force Foundation. This foundation takes it to visit hospitalized children and provides other organizations with materials and instructions to build miniature replicas and deliver them to children’s hospitals. The CNIO recently delivered two of these robots to La Paz University Hospital.
The stands area offered various activities and games: observing cells and tissues through different types of microscopes, learning how centrifuges and other basic research equipment work, handling pipettes, solving puzzles to understand genome mutations, and extracting DNA from a tomato. There was also a demonstration on how to build The Pink Force robots. The afternoon provided many answers to curiosity and also rised many more questions to explore.
About the European Researchers’ Night
European Researchers’ Night is an European Union initiative held simultaneously in 350 European cities. In Madrid, it is promoted by the Regional Ministry of Science, Universities, and Innovation and coordinated by the madri+d Knowledge Foundation. The project is funded by the European Union under the Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program – Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions.
At the CNIO, the conference is part of the Center’s outreach strategy through the Dean’s Office, together with the CNIO Training Program.
About The Pink Force
The Pink Force Foundation is a non-profit organization whose goal is to bring joy and excitement to sick children during their hospital stay, creating magical moments in their encounters with the robot R2-KT. It supports organizations that promote initiatives to strengthen families and patients with different pathologies, especially the most vulnerable.
About the National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO)
The National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO) is a public research centre under the Department of Science, Innovation and Universities. It is the largest cancer research centre in Spain and one of the most important in Europe. It includes around five hundred scientists, along with support staff, who are working to improve the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer.