Inclusive Astronomy Exhibition
Imagine holding the planets of the solar system in your hands, touching the surface of the moon with the tip of your fingers or being so close to the sun that you can hear it. This and much more is part of the exhibition 'STROM - Inclusive Astronomy', produced for Passion for Knowledge festival by the DIPC in collaboration with Tabakalera, open to the public from 4 to 31 October on the third floor of Tabakalera.
Through interactive and multisensory experiences, the public will be able to understand basic concepts of astronomy and learn about frontier research in the field of astrophysics being carried out in the Basque Country.
One of the main goals of this exhibition is to ensure access for people with disabilities, especially the visually and hearing impaired communities and people with reduced mobility. For this purpose, tactile guides have been installed on the floor, tactile information panels with accessible text sizes, QRs with access to audio guides, audiovisuals with sign-guides, subtitling and magnetic loop, all in an exhibition space without physical barriers.
In addition, the materials in the exhibition have been created in collaboration with different institutions and people who have been working for years with groups that normally have limited access to science outreach experiences.
STROM - Inclusive Astronomy' has been conceived as a travelling exhibition that aims to travel throughout Spain and even beyond its borders to bring science and knowledge to all citizens, in line with the vocation of the Passion for Knowledge festival.
Are you interested in bringing STROM to your city? Find out more information here:
https://dipc.ehu.eus/en/science-society/strom-inclusive-astronomy?set_language=en
Programme of complementary activities:
Medialab Tabakalera visits for schools and groups
Date: Tuesday to Friday 9-31 October
Time: 10:00-13:00
Speaker: Virginia García, Aranzadi Astronomy Department
Venue: STROM Exhibition – Inclusive Astronomy, Tabakalera 3 rd floor
Geared towards: schools
Languages: Basque, Spanish
Registration in advance via the Tabakalera Medialab website
Description: Schools in Gipuzkoa that register can take part in the free guided tours
scheduled for the mornings of October, from Tuesday to Friday.
Visits accompanied by DIPC researchers
Date: Tuesdays and Thursdays 10-26 October
Time: From 18:30 onwards
Speaker: Silvia Bonoli, Daniel López, Lurdes Ondaro, Sara Ortega
Venue: STROM Exhibition – Inclusive Astronomy, Tabakalera 3rd floor
Geared towards: the general public
Languages: Basque, Spanish and English
Free access until full capacity is reached
Description: Researchers from the DIPC’s cosmology and astrophysics group will be in the
exhibition hall to answer questions and encourage dialogue among the attendees.
DIPC - Kutxa Fundazioa talks and round table
Date: Wednesday 4 October Time: 19:00
Talk and guided tour: “Towards inclusive exchange on astronomy: a multi-sensory kit to
explore planetary formation”. The talk will be followed by a guided tour of the exhibition’s planet formation area.
Speaker: Dr Amelia Bayo, Project Scientist at the European Southern Observatory (ESO)
Venue: Kutxa Fundazioa Plaza, Tabakalera 4 th floor
Geared towards: the general public, adapted for the visually impaired
Languages: Spanish
Free access until full capacity is reached
Description: During the years in which she founded and directed the Millennium Planetary
Training Nucleus in Chile, Amelia Bayo and her team created a kit to facilitate the inclusive
teaching of astronomy. This kit focuses on the processes of planet formation through a 3D
printed model that evolves sequentially offering a dynamic experience. In a fun,
approachable, rigorous and accessible way for everyone, this talk will explain how the
planets are formed.Speaker's biography:
Dr Amelia Bayo has been Project Scientist at the European Southern Observatory since 2022
when she left her position as Professor at the University of Valparaíso. Her research focuses
on low-mass star formation, including substellar and planetary formation. Throughout her
career she has shown an ongoing commitment to the dissemination of science, particularly
in recent years with a focus on the development of inclusive materials and activities.Date: Thursday 5 October
Time: 11:00
Talk and guided tour: “’O Sole mio. A musical invitation to meet the star of your life”.
Speaker: Dr Inés Rodríguez-Hidalgo, Director of the Science Museum of Valladolid
Venue: Kutxa Fundazioa Plaza, Tabakalera 4 th floor
Geared towards: the general public, adapted for people with functional diversity
Languages: Spanish
Free access until full capacity is reached
Description: The Sun is an "ordinary" star, but it is also a real "movie" star that is fascinating
and necessary and with which we live side by side. This talk, geared towards people of all
abilities, is a musical invitation to get to know the star of our lives through spectacular
images and videos, and songs that speak of the Sun, 'O Sole mio, oh, our Sun!’Speaker's biography:
Inés Rodríguez-Hidalgo has a PhD in Astrophysics and holds an advanced piano
qualification. She has been a lecturer in the Dept. of Astrophysics at the ULL, a researcher in
Solar Physics at the IAC and director of the Museum of Science and the Cosmos in La
Laguna. Since February 2009, she has been directing the Science Museum of Valladolid. She
is an active popularizer of science and critical thinking, and has been a member of the jury
for the Prismas and Princess of Asturias Awards for Technical and Scientific Research.Date: Wednesday 18 October
Time: 19:00
Talk: “The Sensory Exploration of the Universe”.
Speaker: Dr Amelia Ortiz-Gil, Astronomical Observatory of Valencia
Venue: Ruiz Balerdi Auditorium, Tabakalera 4 th floor
Geared towards: the general public
Languages: Spanish
Free access until full capacity is reached
Description: Although we are accustomed to a visual perception of the Universe, in this talk
we will learn about other ways of perceiving the Cosmos, through hearing, touch, smell and
taste. This paradigm shift also allows for the inclusion of people with functional diversity.Speaker's biography:
Dr Amelia Ortiz-Gil is an astronomer at the Astronomical Observatory of the University of
Valencia. After a professional period dedicated to research, her current activity focuses on
the dissemination of astronomy, including people with functional diversity in particular. She
has been the representative in Spain of the International Astronomical Union's Office for the
Dissemination of Astronomy. She has received numerous awards, such as the "Europlanet"
prize for the dissemination of planetary sciences and the "10th José María Savirón award"
for her career in science dissemination.Date: Friday 27 October
Time: 19:00
Roundtable: “From the cosmic web to the ghost particle: a reflection on our Universe from
art and science”.
Speaker: Dr Raúl Angulo, Patricia Cancelo, Dr Juan José Gómez-Cadenas
Venue: Ruiz Balerdi Auditorium, Tabakalera 4 th floor
Geared towards: the general public
Languages: Spanish
Free access until full capacity is reached
Description: How can we get closer to understanding the frontiers of the known universe?
And how can art and science engage in dialogue and complement each other? In this round
table, DIPC scientists will explain how it is possible to study the universe and its physical
laws through underground experiments and simulations on supercomputers by contrasting
their experiences with the artistic process of the painter Patricia Cancelo.Speaker's biographies:
Dr Raúl Angulo is an astronomer and Ikerbasque researcher at the Donostia International
Physics Center (DIPC). His career focuses on creating universes on supercomputers to
understand the physical laws that give rise to the cosmos around us. He has received a
whole host of awards for his research, including a grant from the European Research
Council, and the Wilhelm Bessel Prize of the Humboldt Foundation in Germany.Patricia Cancelo is a geometric sculptor in iron, a painter who depicts the universe and the
place occupied by the human being in it. As a journalist she worked for 12 years in various
media, from radio to television. She has been an art gallery director in Barcelona for the last
4 years. She has received numerous national and international awards. Her work can be
found in the collections of museums and galleries in various cities and countries, such as
Paris, Ireland, Denmark and Barcelona.Dr Juan José Gómez-Cárdenas is a physicist and Ikerbasque Research Professor at the
Donostia International Physics Center (DIPC). He has devoted most of his career to the study
of elusive elementary particles known as neutrinos. He currently leads the NEXT project, an
experiment that seeks to demonstrate that the neutrino is its own antiparticle. In addition
to his work as a scientist, he has written several books of fiction and on popular science.
Medialab Tabakalera workshops for families
Date: Saturday 7 October
Date: Wednesday 11 October
Time: 11:00
Workshop: S"The sky, our window on the universe"
Facilitator: Virginia García, Aranzadi Department of Astronomy
Venue: STROM Exhibition – Inclusive Astronomy, Tabakalera 3rd floor
Geared towards: families
Languages: Basque, Spanish
Registration in advance via the Tabakalera Medialab website
Description: We live on a planet, it takes us through space on its journey around the Sun. On
this journey, what we see in the sky as we look up changes throughout the night and the
year. In this workshop we will take a look at the movements of the earth to better
understand how the sky changes.
Time: 17:30
Workshop: "Meeting to draw: ESA - Space Gallery Competition"
Facilitator: Virginia García, Aranzadi Department of Astronomy
Venue: STROM Exhibition – Inclusive Astronomy, Tabakalera 3rd floor
Aimed at: children up to 12 years of age.
Languages: Basque, Spanish
Free access until full capacity is reached
Description: Once a month, the European Space Agency (ESA) organises a drawing
competition with a different theme. The STROM - Inclusive Astronomy Exhibition and
Tabakalera join this drawing competition with a session for children up to 12 years old.Date: Saturday 14 October
Time: 11:00
Workshop: “Workshop on micrometeorites”
Facilitator: Virginia García, Aranzadi Department of Astronomy
Venue: STROM Exhibition – Inclusive Astronomy, Tabakalera 3rd floor
Geared towards: families
Languages: Basque, Spanish
Registration in advance via the Tabakalera Medialab website
Description: Why did the dinosaurs disappear? What are sheet rains? What’s the difference
between meteorites, meteors and meteoroids? Where can we find micrometeorites?
Participants can learn all about this in the workshop; they will be looking for
micrometeorites and identifying them under the microscope.Date: Saturday 21 October
Time: 11:00
Workshop: “Discovering the galaxies”
Facilitator: Virginia García, Aranzadi Department of Astronomy
Venue: STROM Exhibition – Inclusive Astronomy, Tabakalera 3rd floor
Geared towards: families
Languages: Basque, Spanish
Registration in advance via the Tabakalera Medialab website
Description: Workshop to find out what galaxies are, about the different types of galaxies,
the Milky Way and our location in this spiral. The session ends with the workmanship of the
galactic bag.Date: Saturday 21 October
Time: 19:00
Workshop: "Moon observation session"
Facilitator: Virginia García, Aranzadi Department of Astronomy
Venue: 4th floor Tabakalera
Aimed at: Family audiences
Languages: Basque, Spanish
Free access until full capacity is reached
Description: On 21 October, the STROM - Inclusive Astronomy Exhibition and Tabakalera will
join in the celebration of NASA's Moon Observation Day.Date: Saturday 28 October
Time: 11:00
Workshop: Who said you can't see the stars here?
Facilitator: Virginia García, Aranzadi Department of Astronomy
Venue: STROM Exhibition – Inclusive Astronomy, Tabakalera 3rd floor
Geared towards: families
Languages: Basque, Spanish
Registration in advance via the Tabakalera Medialab website
Description: Description: You are bound to have stared up at the sky many times, wondering where that
twinkling that is seen so far away could be, or on the basis of what logic we can see it
moving up there. In this workshop we will learn what constellations are, we will review the
movements of our planet to better understand the changes we perceive in the sky and, to
put into practice what we have learnt, we will draw a planisphere on an umbrella.Facilitator's biography:
Virginia García is a member of the board of directors of Aranzadi and executive of the FAAE
(Federation of Spanish Astronomical Associations). She worked for eight years as a
planetarium presenter at the Donostia Science Museum, where she also coordinated
activities to promote scientific culture. At Aranzadi she is particularly active in organizing
workshops and giving courses for adults, young people and children.