Bridging the gap between citizens and science, Biomaterials and Stem Cell-based Therapeutics group attended two great public outreach events: European Research in Night in Coimbra (NEI) on the night of the 29th September and the Science Festival of Oliveira do Bairro (FeCiOB) on the 4th October.

 

Considering the group’s participation in ERACHAIR, the topic chosen for this year was cardiovascular ageing. The main aims were to raise awareness for cardiovascular ageing in the population and to inform about the role of the group in this research area. The approach to the topic was done using three different activities, which complemented each other. One of the activities consisted in the visualization of a virtual reality movie using appropriate devices, which allowed the participant to ‘travel’ inside a young and an old heart and aorta, highlighting the changes between them at a physiological and cellular point of view. The two other activities focused on reinforcing the concepts seen in the movie, through a quiz in a fortune teller and a game where participants used a pump and tubes to simulate the cardiovascular system and learn the alterations that occur during the ageing process in a more practical approach. Additionally, the group also showed some information about their participation in the stroke therapy project which aims to develop new therapies to manage stroke.

 

The group considers that the participation in both events was a great success in public outreaching and engagement since, in total, more than 4000 thousand people participated in our activities and there was always queue for them.

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