Communication of Science Day: Extreme Explorers of the Universe

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On the 7th of March 2013, in the Nuclear Sciences Institute of the National Autonomous University of Mexico, we organized a communication of science event called "Communication of Science Day: Extreme Explorers of the Universe". The idea of this event was to discuss with the general public, in particular high school students, the latest research in subjects related to the nuclear sciences, such as particle physics, quantum computing, nanotechnology, astrophysics, astrobiology, etc.

The name of the event is related to the idea that many of the scientists who work on experimental projects travel to distant and often very extreme locations to do research on subjects such as cosmic rays and particle physics. Moreover, modern physicists research on the most extreme conditions of the Universe, such as the smallest elementary particles or the biggest cosmic events, such as the collision of two black holes. Hence, we decided to create a poster which portrays scientists as extreme explorers, such as the following.

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The main part of the event consisted in a series of popular talks, about subjects such as cosmic rays, the study of astrophysics and cryptography. The talks were given by scientists who were previously trained to give talks that are attractive and understandable for young people. In the next image, we see Dr. Alfred U'Ren talking about Quantum Cryptography.

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Apart from the conventional talks, we also organized a series of "platonic discussions" in an informal environment outdoors, in which scientists and the public could discuss a subject related to science. In the following pictures we see Dr. Guy Paic, one of the pioneers of the LHC project, discussing all the things that could go wrong in an experiment of such magnitude. 

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The main talk of the event was given by Professor Miguel Alcubierre, the Director of the Institute. The talk was based on the commentary of the episode "Falling" of the series "Wonders of the Universe" , which is hosted by Professor Brian Cox. Professor Alcubierre is well known for proposing the Alcubierre warp drive. He is one of the most famous scientists in Mexico, and often appears on television talking about his work. He is often portrayed as an extreme explorer, as can be seen in the picture below. For example, he appeared on a TV show called "The electric sheep", where he talked about his warp drive theory, and about how he got inspired by the Star Trek series for his science.

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Young people were excited to talk to Professor Alcubierre, and we encouraged a two-hour discussion on gravitation and relativity.

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During the day, we also had several workshops for the children who attended the event. One of them consisted of creating paper models of Mexican scientists. The only scientist that most people in Mexico have heard of is Albert Einstein; hence, we wanted children to know that there are Mexican scientists such as Miguel Alcubierre who are doing important research.

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Since the Mexican researcher Dr. Rafael Navarro is one of the participants in the Curiosity Mission, which is looking for organic matter on Mars, we decided to create a workshop in which children constructed their own paper model of a Mars rover, to be used in a race to see who could find the first traces of organic matter in a Martian landscape.

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The explanation of the science of Curiosity was given by Dr. Rafael Navarro's undergraduate students, who were showing the attendants a paper model of Curiosity, and a paper model of Dr. Navarro. The idea to have the students talk to the public is to make young people feel more at ease than when they are talking to an older scientist.

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During lunch time, a barbecue was organized in which scientists sat down with young people to chat in an informal environment about their experiences in science. 

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This event lasted a whole day, and attracted about a thousand visitors. Many of the students who attended returned to the institute to become volunteers to start doing scientific research.