The Catalan Foundation for Research and Innovation (FCRI), with the support of the Department of Research and Universities of the Government of Catalonia, is organizing the 30th edition of the Science Week, which will take place from November 7 to 16 throughout Catalonia.

Since 2001, the CSIC has taken part in the event, helping coordinate and promote the Science Week activities in Spain.

The Science Week brings together numerous institutions and organizations in the fields of knowledge, research, and science and technology outreach. As part of Science Week, a wide range of free science outreach activities will be organized across the country: open days, virtual events, exhibitions, science workshops… a broad scientific offer in many formats and open to everyone!

At ICMAB, we didn’t want to miss the celebration and will participate with activities both inside and outside the center. We have also joined this year’s main theme, quantum technologies, in celebration of the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology (IYQ 2025), promoted by the United Nations.

Open Activities

Visits to the 'Quantum and ICMAB' Exhibition

🗓️ November 4 and November 11
🕒 2 sessions: 11:00 am (Catalan/Spanish) & 3:00 pm (English)
 📍ICMAB

On Tuesday, November 4 and on Tuesday, November 11, guided tours to the Quantum and ICMAB Exhibition will be offered, with explanations by the creators of each of the three sections. With the aim of celebrating the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology, the exhibition begins with a chronology of the history of quantum physics to guide the visitor toward three of ICMAB’s major research fields in quantum science: superconductors, spintronics, and molecular qubits, through various items: images, explanations, models, samples and games to enter the mysterious, yet at the same time so real and with so many applications, world of quantum science.

Quantum at the ICMAB exhibition | ICMAB-CSIC

Stay tuned for updates. The registration list is available at the center’s reception desk and online!

Talk: “Romanesque Pigments”

🗓️ Saturday November 15 
🕒 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm 
 📍Casa Regional de Soria, Barcelona (map)

On Saturday, November 15, at the Casa Regional de Soria in Barcelona, Anna Crespi (XRD scientific and technical service) and Daniel Martín (Surfaces group) will talk about the substances used for painting during the Romanesque period, as part of the activities of the LAB TOUR project.

LAB TOUR is the name of ICMAB’s new outreach initiative, designed to bring science and technology to rural and depopulated areas. This first edition will take place in Soria, a region in the so-called “Empty Spain”. The location was chosen due to the Sorian roots of Daniel Martín Jiménez, ICMAB researcher and project leader.

Romanesque paintings are one of the elements used in the project to connect the province of Soria with the history of Catalonia from the perspective of materials science.

Talk "The C. elegans model as a bridge between nanotechnology and biology"

🗓️ Wednesday, November 12, 2025
🕒 7:00 pm  
 📍Sala Prat de la Riba, Institut d’Estudis Catalans (map)

In this talk, which will be held at the IEC and organized by the Societat Catalana de Biologia (SCB), researcher Anna Laromaine will highlight the essential role of C. elegans in the field of nanotechnology, and how, at the Nanoparticles and Nanocomposites (NN) Group at ICMAB-CSIC, they exploit its potential as an experimental model for studying the interaction between nanomaterials and biological systems, as well as for exploring new applications in the design of functional materials.

Activities with schools

One of the key audiences of Science Week are schools and high schools, which take the opportunity to discover the latest scientific advances and meet the people working in research. Throughout the week, ICMAB will carry out several activities with schools, both at the schools themselves and at ICMAB:

• Following the theme of quantum technologies, Anna Palau (SUMAN) will give two talks to all the Baccalaureate classes at La Salle School in Manlleu.
• Anna Laromaine, from the NN Group, will visit INS Baix Montseny to give a talk on new materials for health.
• Institut-Escola Mirades (Barcelona) will visit ICMAB to take part in a workshop on organic solar cells led by Francesc Xavier Capella, Arianna Quesada, and Martín Francisco Martín, all from the NANOPTO group.

We hope you’ll join us in celebrating Science Week by participating in the activities organized by ICMAB, or any of the many others available in the FCRI Science Week or CSIC Science Week programmes! 

Past editions:

Science Week 2022: ICMAB researchers on the field (ICMAB, 2022)

Setmana de la Ciència 2020: Participate in the Science Week 2020 with the ICMAB! (ICMAB, 2020)

The Science Week brings 185 students aged 12-16 years to discover the new materials of the ICMAB! (ICMAB, 2019)