On the week of 4-10 May, the "10alamenys9" Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Festival took place. On Tuesday, 5 May, three groups of students were introduced to the world of nanoscience and research through visits to ICMAB, ICN2 and IMB-CNM. On Saturday, 9 May, the festival continued with a full day of activities at Cosmocaixa, beginning with a microscopy workshop in the morning and ending with hands-on activities and talks in the evening. The audience ranged from families to early university students, and the wide variety of activities and interactive experiences allowed one-to-one conversations which are always the best opportunities to exchange knowledge.

10alamenys9 at the UAB Campus

This year, Eulàlia Serrano, coordinator of the Argó programme from the Institut de Ciències de l'Educació (ICE), took over the orgnaization of the 10alamenys9 festival at the UAB Campus, after many years in which Gemma Garcia, from the Physics Department, had led the initiative. For many students, visiting ICMAB is their first contact with the world of nanoscience. This time, Eulàlia prepared introductory activities on nanoscience and research at the participating centres, so the students arrived at ICMAB with some prior nano-knowledge.

Claudia Martínez and the group in the Nanomol-bio lab

At ICMAB, the students were introduced to the centre's research activties by Anna Drou, from the Communication Unit. Afterwards, Claudia Martínez (Nanomol-bio) and Jan Rigau (DCBM) guided them through their laboratories and explained their research and daily work. David Piña also showed them some of the techniques available at the SOFT Service. The students were fascinated by what they discovered at ICMAB, a new world opening up to them. However, very few of them considered the possibility of working in a research centre in the future, a curious contradiction worth reflecting in.

10alamenys9 at Cosmocaixa

On Saturday, the nano activities, this time aimed at a broader audience, continued at Cosmocaixa. At 11 AM, in the Micrarium space, Judith Oró, Mercedes Linares and Esperanza Medina used biological samples and different objects to introduce the concept of structural colouring. This activity, open to people of all but specially suitable for the younger ones, was an ideal way to discover the wonders of the nanoscale and reflect on the different mechanisms that affect macroscopic properties. 

 Esperanza, Judith and Mercedes, ICMAB conductors of the Micrarium activity

In the afternoon, two more activities were prepared by ICMAB researchers. The first one, "Detectius dels materials", was a game involving material samples and cards with SEM, TEM, AFM and XRD measurement images, which became useful tools whenever the naked eye or simple mechanic tests were not enough to identify materials.

Maria Ortiz and Lluis Casabona during the "Detectius dels materials" activity

During the activity, Alexandra Harbuzaru, Maria Ortiz and Lluis Casabona, interacted with families, young people, and adults who were curious to learn which materials are studied at ICMAB, as well as how and why they are studied. This activity was first presented at Festa de la Ciència last year and was developed by Scientific and Technical Service technicians Judith Oró, Anna Esther Carrillo, Markos Paradinas and Anna Crespi, together with Anna Drou from the communication team. 

Alexandra, Lluis and Maria at the end of activity, joined by their colleague Samar Gharbi from ICMAB 

The second activity, "Experimentant amb la criogènia", was designed and conducted by Ekaterina Khestanova, one of the newest Ramon y Cajals researchers to join ICMAB. During her activity, she discussed concepts such as temperature and density with the audience before exploring what happens to different materials when liquid nitrogen comes into play. The spectacular nature of liquid nitrogen is always a powerful way to spark scientific discussions. 

Ekaterina Khestanova and her equipment moments before the start of the activity

Last but not least, during the final two hours of the day, Maria Ortiz, Lluis Casabona and Alexandra Harbuzaru participated in three sessions of the Science Corner, an activity in which a group of people, including a researcher, sat around a table and discussed the research being carried out by that researchers, as well as related topics. The researchers rotated between the different tables, allowing many kinds of conversations to emerge this context.

 Alexandra Harbuzaru during her Science Corner session

All in all, the "10alamenys9" festival is an event in which different activities help reach and engage a wide variety of audiences. In addition, one-to-one and small-group conversations facilitate dialogue between science and society, which hopefully has a positive impact on everyone involved. 

More information:

ICMAB researchers at 2026 Nanoscience Festival "10alamenys9"

10th edition of the 10alamenos9 Nanoscience and Nanotechnology festival - also at ICMAB!

ICMAB's celebration of the "10alamenos9" Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Festival 2025