Two years into the pandemic with hypothetical proposals, the Interactive Center for Science and Technology (CICyT) Abremate which operates at the National University of Lanús (UNLa) has reopened its doors for family and school visits. The space will be held next Saturday, 21 years since its inception, driven by the premise of the “right to know” enjoyed by the whole of society. The Abremate has an exhibition hall open to the community, with sixty-three units (playful interaction units). With free admission and the participation of thirteen teacher guides, visitors are allowed to pass through transformations in science and technology by retracing history through different cultures.
Housed in a 2,000 square meter building at 5600 Avenida Hipólito Yrigoyen, in Remedios de Escalda, the Abremate Museum has, throughout its history, become a reference point for bridging the gap between the social and natural sciences. “The question of eliminating gaps or gaps between different specialized areas has to do with one of the main goals of both UNLa and Abremate, and is also based on the fact that all languages are integrated, integrated and interacted when it comes to comprehensive learning,” Susana Espinosa, Director of the Center, explained to the University Extension. The venue has an exhibition room with seven historical sectors, through which guided tours and thematic itineraries are made. Specifically, the historical periods shown are the ancient empires of the east, the empires of the west, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the modern era, the contemporary era, and our era. Convinced that the main educational mechanism favoring scientific literacy is interaction, Abremate invites visitors to play with units of physics, chemistry, and biology, going beyond mere speculative example. “I believe that creativity and inclusiveness, with the freedom that allows everyone the opportunity to learn through practice, through play, is the inevitable path that our society must follow with commitment and utter priority,” said Espinosa, a graduate of educational administration and doctor of philosophy.
Visits, in which boys and girls especially from 7 to 15 years old participate, usually lead to future professions. The pandemic prevented these tours from being taken in person, but the university has continued to offer hypothetical proposals. For two years, the online activities consisted of “loops of conversations” in which specialists from different fields participated in short five-minute audiovisual materials to explain technological and scientific phenomena.
The colossal arcade has now been brought back to life and the challenges are renewed. “We want to return to make traveling exhibitions all over Argentina and in neighboring countries. To resume exchanges of this kind, they from Abremate have established contacts with municipalities, cultural directorates, universities and museums across the country. In addition, they are working to organize a course of online conversations for the second semester. With eminent personalities from interactive museums from around the world, Espinosa said, “The most important thing will be to work hard again to access knowledge in an interactive way to democratize science and technology from different fields of work.”
