The IBSA Foundation's Museum Tour project has successfully entered its third year. With this initiative, the foundation supports secondary school classes in discovering science outside the classroom. Now the museum tour is going international: for the first time school classes from Spain are taking part in a museum tour in Barcelona.
Hypatia at CosmoCaixa Barcelona: a free science museum workshop for students
A trip to Mars – this is one of humanity's great and as yet unfulfilled dreams. It requires not only a suitable spacecraft, but also a crew that is fit enough to undertake the journey. A flight to Mars takes around 6 to 9 months. Anyone who wants to fly there must therefore prepare themselves physically and mentally.
This was the focus of the ‘Hypatia’ event at the CosmoCaixa science museum in Barcelona on 25 February. Students from the Liceo Edoardo Amaldi, part of the Istituto Italiano Statale Comprensivo di Barcellona, were able to learn what it takes to fly to Mars.
How we travel to Mars
In the large auditorium, Anna Sabaté Garcia and Ariadna Farrés Basiana from the Hypatia project told the amazed young people and children what everyday life is like on Mars. The two scientists have not yet experienced this on the “real” Mars, but in the desert: in the Mars Desert Research Station in Utah, USA, life and research on Mars can be simulated.
Several teams from the Hypatia project have already completed two such missions, each lasting 14 days. A third is planned for 2027. Hypatia Mars is an organization run by women that promotes space research and science communication. Its goal is to highlight female talent and inspire future generations.
Food in space
The students were particularly fascinated by the topic of food in space. However, anyone who dreams of a trip to space will have to make a few compromises. The food is freeze-dried and should not crumble in order to avoid damaging equipment or unintentionally inhaling it.
It is also important that the food does not spoil and remains nutritious, to keep everyone healthy, given that the nearest hospital is very far away in space.
After the event, the students were delighted with their goodie bags containing two Let’s Science! books from IBSA Foundation: «The Microbiota» and «From Conception to Birth». The first book explains why a healthy diet is important, not just in space, while the second contains a comic that describes a birth in space.
Let's Science! – Learning with science comics
IBSA Foundation for scientific research covered the costs of this exciting excursion as part of its Museum Tour project. The foundation enables secondary school classes to participate in selected workshops at science museums. It is part of the Let's Science! project, which introduces young people to the world of science in various formats. The central theme is the connection between science and comic stories. Comics make it easier to access scientific topics that may seem difficult at first.
The IBSA Foundation book series
The goodie bags handed out at the end of the museum visit are also very popular with young people. They contain drawing utensils that encourage them to process what they have learned through drawing. In addition, they contain the relevant volume from the IBSA Foundation book series, designed especially for young people. What makes these books special is that they not only explain scientific information in an easy-to-understand way but also contain an exciting comic strip related to the topic.
The focus is always on the human body and how it works. This teaches pupils how to stay mentally and physically healthy, which is important not only for a successful mission to Mars, but also here on Earth.
The Museum Tour conquers Europe
The Museum Tour format was launched in German-speaking Switzerland at the end of 2023, where around 800 schoolchildren have taken part so far. The event in Barcelona was organized in collaboration with IBSA Iberia.
With its first stop in Spain, the project now opens a new European chapter. In the coming years, IBSA Foundation aims to extend the Museum Tour to additional countries, offering more school classes the opportunity to experience science in an engaging and accessible way beyond the classroom.
