Ciência nas Férias 2024

The summer edition of Ciência nas Férias (Holiday Science) 2024 came to an end. Throughout this week, highs school students joined us at CERENA and got the chance to learn a lot about Engineering and Geological Resources. This year's edition was about "Characteristics and Applications of Ornamental Stones".

On the first day of hands-on activities, the participants were introduced to the concepts of geological resources, stone industry and the concept of sustainability in the field of mineral exploration, with the kind participation of Fravizel SA. They learnt to read geological maps and virtually explored underground mines and quarries with 3D glasses. The highlight of the day was the mining engineer game, that mimicked a real-life geological survey to unveil mineral veins in the subsurface.

The activities moved to Central Portugal on Tuesday, when the participants visited JULIPEDRA and Mocapor to get a closer look on the industry of ornamental stone. Students were offered some limestone samples from the quarry and from the factory.

On Wednesday, the participant resumed their activities in Lisbon. Another full day spent between CERENA's GeoLab, where the participants analyzed the stone samples retrieved from the field, and Instituto Superior Técnico's rooms and esplanade. During the workshop on energy transition, students learnt how spatial data science and AI are used for a more sustainable exploration of natural resources. The final activity (and highlight) of the day consisted in finding innovative and green solutions for mine rehabilitation. 

During the last day of activities carried out in CERENA's ITLab, students worked with Spatial Data Science, learning how to deal with big database and getting introduced to Machine Learning techniques. Finally, they had the chance to put together all the knowledge they acquired during this intense week.

Thanks for the enthusiastic participants of this year summer edition! A big shout out the team of PhD students, professors and researchers involved: Amélia Dionísio, Roberta Lobarinhas, Miguel Gomes, José Manuel Marques, Leonardo Azevedo, Gustavo P.. Thanks for your hard work! Special mention to the precious contribution of several Bachelor's and Master's students from DER Técnico.