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Aug 05, 2026 es Practice Insight

Recycling detectives: an intergenerational play experience at Universum, the Science Museum

by Ingrid Guadalupe Hernández-Gómez , Ms Cristina Hernández-Martínez , Dr Norma Angélica Corado-Nava , Ms María Emilia Beyer-Ruíz

Recycling detectives is an intergenerational educational activity offered by the children’s area at Universum, the Science Museum of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), designed to teach children and their families about the recycling process for Tetra Pak® containers. This text describes the pedagogical criteria that guided its design and presents the results of a formative evaluation based on direct observation to analyze interactions, emotions, and knowledge gained during the experience. The findings show that play, as a legitimate form of learning, facilitates intergenerational cooperation, stimulates emotions, and promotes environmental thinking from an early age.

Volume 9Issue 22026

May 06, 2026 es Practice Insight

Beliefs and Learning about Seismographs and Animals: A Recreational Activity in Mexico

by Caridad Cárdenas-Monroy

Addressing misconceptions about earthquakes is one of the main challenges in the public communication of seismology. The belief that animals can predict when an earthquake will occur is one of the most deeply rooted myths in society, not only in Mexico but worldwide. To address this issue, a workshop was conducted that included a playful demonstration of a seismograph and a hands-on recreational activity providing information about earthquakes and animals, as part of a science fair organized by the National School of Earth Sciences at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. Based on this experience, participants’ prior beliefs and the learning achieved through the workshop were analyzed.

Volume 9Issue 12026

Apr 20, 2026 es Practice Insight

Recreational science resources for addressing COVID-19.

by Nereida Martínez-Báez , Amelia Rodríguez-Pinedo , Elizabeth Ruiz-García , Miguel Garcia-Guerrero , Diogo Lopes-de Oliveira

Providing access to reliable and accessible information in the face of novel or uncertain scenarios is one of the greatest challenges for public communication of science. This becomes especially sensitive in the field of health, where decisions can literally have life-or-death consequences. Encouraging the public to move beyond confirmation bias and question their beliefs in order to base their opinions on scientific consensus is a major challenge. This article analyzes the process of conceptualizing, designing, and testing recreational science workshops created to address issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic, a disease that between March 2020 and August 2022 caused 590 million infections and 6.4 million deaths worldwide. The activities were tested with 211 students aged 8 to 12 in a primary school in Zacatecas, Mexico. Questionnaires were sent to all participants, and 117 responses were obtained. The results point to a greater understanding of and interest in topics related to the novel coronavirus, as well as contagion prevention, vaccines, and the problems associated with self-medication.

Volume 9Issue 12026

Jan 19, 2026 es Practice Insight

Science festival with beer: evaluation of the world’s austral most Pint of Science 2025 (Trelew, Chubut, Argentina)

by Juliana Sterli , María Mercedes Caldentey , Elisa Soledad Martínez Quiroga

The global science festival Pint of Science has been organized since 2013 and is characterized by being an event where the scientific community communicates its research in a pleasant language to a non-specialized public in a decontracted environment, such as bars. In 2025, it was organized from May 19th to May 21st in 251 cities from 27 countries. Trelew city (Chubut, Argentina) witnessed its first Pint of Science in 2025, being the world’s australmost city where this event was held. With the objective of having a demographic sample of the public that attended the event and their opinions, we designed a survey that was distributed among the audience. One hundred and twenty-seven people explicitly authorized to use their responses in a publication. The responses were analyzed, and the results were compared with other published events of Pint of Science (Brazil and Thailand). From the comparison, some common demographic characteristics emerge (e.g., gender proportions and mean age). However, we should be cautious given the historical, social, and economic differences among the audiences of the different events. The public of PoS Trelew 2025 qualified the event as good and excellent.

Volume 9Issue 12026

Sep 15, 2025 pt Practice Insight

Girls in science: scientific management and communication

by Maria Fernanda Marques Fernandes

The present study establishes connections between science communication (SC) and social project management. The case of a SC event on gender equity in science with adolescents and female researchers is studied. Representative of a group of similar SC initiatives, the event is divided into six phases of a social project's life cycle, each of which is analyzed according to good management practices, identifying points where failure to apply these practices led to missed opportunities. In conclusion, it is recommended that SC projects do not fail to record and document their processes.

Volume 8Issue 022025

Feb 05, 2025 es Practice Insight

Engaging activities to promote science dialogue and discussion.

by María Yazmín Hernández-Arellano , Patricia Aguilera-Jiménez , María del Carmen Sánchez-Mora

Through participatory activities, we aim to engage people with science, technology, and innovation in an active manner, fostering a higher level of involvement and interaction with others. This paper presents the design process of an activity based on the perspective of public participation and the game PlayDecide, addressing the socio-environmental issue of urban solid waste management. We believe it is important to share this process as a contribution to those who design educational experiences in informal science settings.

Volume 8Issue 012025

Oct 28, 2024 es Practice Insight

The art of communicating science: a creative and reflective process through clown theater.

by Claudio I. Valencia , Malena Valencia , Mario Humberto Ramírez Díaz , Ana De Luca

In this article, we share a creative and pedagogical process that brings the so-called "science on stage" to life, emerging at the intersection of theater and science. Through a theater methodology, we use elements of the clown genre to develop a formative process rich in bodily and emotional expression, integrating narratives around science and culminating in a stage proposal. The result is an educational experience where emotion and reflection emerge as the undisputed protagonists, promoting deeper learning and a more meaningful connection with the audience, and in turn, a connection between the audience and scientific themes.

Volume 7Issue 022024

Oct 07, 2024 es Practice Insight

The Challenge of Public Science Communication at the Institutional Level: A Situated Reflection

by Javier Ricardo Garcia de Souza , María Fernanda Alvarez , Bianca Cortese , Paula Altieri , Carolina Monti

In Argentine institutes and scientific research centers, efforts are rarely dedicated to public science communication (PSC), which weakens the connection with the society to which they belong. For this reason, in 2015, the Institute of Limnology “Dr. Raúl A. Ringuelet” (La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina) created its Extension and Communication Area, which has coordinated numerous activities at science fairs, schools, and neighborhoods. Through the implementation of a relational approach, adaptable to similar institutions, solid connections have been established with various sectors, and the internal revaluation and enhancement of PSC.

Volume 7Issue 022024

Sep 16, 2024 pt Practice Insight

Podhans: public communication podcast about leprosy produced by listening to SUS users

by Fernanda Cassiano de Lima , Mariella Silva de Oliveira-Costa , Maria Fernanda Marques Fernandes

The study describes and analyzes the production of a health communication podcast based on the ‘Health Handbook of Persons Affected by Leprosy’, produced by the Brazilian Ministry of Health, in 2020. In a study that analyzed the perception of users treated at a specialized public outpatient clinic, it was observed that some of them were unable to read and interpret printed text. The perceived difficulties motivated the adaptation of the content and, thus, the Podhans podcast was created. With accessible and relaxed language, the 16 episodes explore useful topics about the daily lives of people with leprosy and the disease, created from listening to users and considering principles of public communication. Available online, it can be used in the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS) services and by social movements, expanding access to health information and communication about leprosy.

Volume 7Issue 022024

Mar 11, 2024 es Practice Insight

REMARCO network: science and communication in addressing marine-coastal stressors.

by Laura Brenes-Alfaro , Daniel Carrasco-Palma

This article presents the experience of collaborative and interdisciplinary work between scientists and communicators, in the framework of the Marine-Coastal Stressors Research Network in Latin America and the Caribbean (REMARCO), created in 2018. It reflects on the actions achieved since its creation, and the dynamics established between the scientific and communication groups. It is concluded that the collaborative work has allowed scientists to learn how to disseminate the results of their research, while communicators acquire technical knowledge on the problem of marine-coastal stressors, achieving synergies for the benefit of scientific dissemination; with improvement areas that should be solved soon.

Volume 7Issue 012024Medioambiente y divulgación de la ciencia / Meio ambiente e divulgação da ciência (Medioambiente/Meio ambiente)

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