Miniature Nature

 Those little trees, so fragile and vigorous, and, above all, elegant as heck... Ever feel curiosity? You are probably thinking about bonsais, right? Well, in fact the word "bonsai" in Japanese refers not to the little trees but to the art of cultivating them.

And it is a very delicate art indeed, like everything stemming from the country of rising sun. Skilled bonsai masters achieve the shrunken size of the plants by using techniques such as transplantation, pruning, wire fencing, clamping... The purposes of bonsai are mostly aesthetic contemplation (for the viewer) and the pleasant exercise of effort and ingenuity (for the grower).

 

 This weekend, our Science Museum presents free educational exhibition and workshop for all audiences!

• Friday May 23th: 18:00 to 21:00
• Saturday May 24th: 10:00 to 21:00
• Sunday May 25th: 10:00 to 15:00

The exhibition corresponds to the XVI Spring Exhibition by Seville Association of Bonsai Chokkan.  The exhibition will demonstrate the approach to common techniques of this ancient art of growing trees and plants. Members of the Association will present some of the Bonsai examples over time. The professor Eduardo Hidalgo from the Association will hold a workshop this Saturday on 24^th of May at 11:30am, where he will show the entire process of growing a bonsai tree from the scratch. A plant grown in a pot during the right weather conditions but without receiving specific treatment will be elaborated in parallel with the explanation by the expert.  This activity is aimed to all audiences and the entry is free until the seats are filled. In addition, all participants have the opportunity to win a bonsai tree by taking part in the lottery that will take place during the exhibition.

See you this Saturday!

Would you like to discover your DNA? You can! At the Science Fair in Seville.

The Science Fair is an educational and cultural project organized by the Andalusian Society for the Promotion of Science, the Descubre Foundation and the Seville Teacher Center. Its purpose is to create an educational environment that enables sharing, dissemination and communication of scientific knowledge to the public, in which the actors are pupils who participate in the project voluntarily.

In its 12^th edition, La Casa de la Ciencia is participating yet another year alongside with other centers and institutions of the Higher Council of Scientific Research (CSIC) of Andalusia.

Alongside information about the activities that Museum organizes for general public, Casa de la Ciencia will carry out activities and interactive games for all the visitors.

-Workshop “Discover your DNA”

Visitors can satisfy their curiosity of Genetic world and learn how to extract their own DNA in home environment with a simple method.  The monitors will answer questions such as “How is color blindness inherited?” Developed by Ludociencia/Fun Science.

-Paleontology Workshop

It will recreate an experience of being on a paleontological site. Including methodology (data collection, fieldwork and lab work) that is followed when seeking a paleontological dig site. For few minutes participants will convert into paleontologists that are conducting a study of fossil remains. Developed by Natures SCA.

-Our crystal world: a glance inside the interior

With the little theoretical-practical introduction we will establish what is crystal and the importance of its discovery.  We will enter the inner world of crystals, mainly those around us in our daily lives (ice, salt, sugar etc.). This activity will aim to show crystal and its internal layout. There will be provided solutions for the creation of these crystals by using sugar and salt. This workshop will be divided into two final parts according to the age of participants: a) for the youngest, a craft paper of an ice crystal b) for a bit older, we will build crystal structure with sticks and cork balls. Developed by Natures SCA.

Visit and gain more knowledge and have fun at Seville Science fair. From 15^th to 17^th of May at Congress and Exhibition Centre (FIBES). For more information visit www.feriadelaciencia.org

#MuseumWeek

#MuseumWeek is the first organized mass Twitter event between European museums, galleries and their visitors. From March 24-30, hundreds of organisations from across the UK and Europe will come together on Twitter to share stories, answer questions and give unparalleled access to museums and the people that run them.

Some of the institutions taking part are The Natural History Museum, The British Library, The Roald Dahl Museum (a good thing, that), The Prado Museum in Madrid, The Dali Museum in Barcelona and of course, La Casa de la Ciencia here in Seville.

Over the next week you can follow our Twitter account to see how events unfold.

The hashtag for the week will be #MuseumWeek, but every day there will be a different theme to help kickstart conversations:

March 24: A day in the life (# DayInTheLife)

March 25: Test your knowledge (# MuseumMastermind)

March 26: History of the museum (# MuseumMemories)

March 27: Behind the scenes (# BehindTheArt)

March 28: Ask the experts (# AskTheCurator)

March 29: Selfies in the museum  (# MuseumSelfies)

March 30: Get creative (# GetCreative)

For more information about the event and to see a full list of the participating museums and galleries, click here.

See you next week.