This year, the Barcelona Biomedical Research Park (PRBB) resumes educational activities presenting ‘science journalists’, a virtual activity adressed to 4th, 5th and 6th grade students.
The aim of the activity is to interview a researcher who works in one of the centers located in the PRBB to satisfy the students’ curiositiy about research. To do so, in the first session, the students get to know the person they need to interview and think about the questions.
In a second session, students interview the researcher by videoconference. Afterwards, we invite the students to prepare a written or drawn piece summarizing what they have learned and how they value the experience.
Last academic year, the activity was piloted in two centers with 4th grade students. Thus, 20 children from the Mediterrània School of Barcelona interviewed Dr. Marc Talló from the Department of Experimental and Health Sciences, Pompeu Fabra University (DCEXS-UPF). In turn, Dra. Inmaculada López from the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM) was in charge of answering the questions of the 44 students from the Vallès school of Terrassa. The experience was positively valued by both teachers and students.
The pedagogical box: this year’s novelty
To make the activity more experiential, a pedagogical box is sent to each school. The box contains stickers, four sets of game cards to play in the classroom, and a guide for teachers.
With these cards, students are expected to discover, first person, some of the work done by PRBB researchers, such as analyzing DNA sequences or finding out which animal a chromosome group belongs to.
Whether you are a researcher at any of the PRBB centers, or a primary school teacher, if you would like to participate in this activitly, get in touch by email to comunicacio@prbb.org.
