The University of Navarra has organized special activities to celebrate the "Year of Science", promoted by the ministry of Ministry of Education and Science for increasing scientific outreach. Among the events programmed are conferences, round table discussions, debates and scientific outreach competitions, which will deal with topics such as climate change, renewable energy, evolution and biomedicine.

As well, the Museum of Natural Sciences will celebrate an open house, directed especially for students in their first and second year of university. The collection, considered one of the finest private university collections in Spain, contains more than two million specimens from different biological species. The open house week will be repeated in October; plans are underway to provide a teaching guide for the school students who visit the museum, as well as pamphlets and informative CDs.

Among the activities planned for the "Year of Science" are different talks on current topics and social interest in which various experts in the scientific field will take place. For example, in October there will be a conference on "The Origin of Man," in which will speak, among others, Daniel Turbón, Professor of Paleontropology and author of the book "La evolución humana" ["Human Evolution"].La evolución humana.

Experimentation Conference and visits to the Museum of Natural Sciences

The "Week of Science" will take place in November and will include sessions on the environment and global warming, renewable energy sources, biotechnology and biomedicine and health. As well, in December, coinciding with the awarding of the 2007 Nobel Prizes, a round table will be held on the prizewinning scientific discoveries in Chemistry, Physics and Medicine.

Other initiatives include a course on Environmental Education, which will be taught in October and November and is open to students, professionals in that field and any person who is interested in this topic. Also offered are two activities on scientific photography: a contest open to the general public and an exhibition of "FotCiencia06," from the National Contest of Scientific Photography.

In the same way, an Experimentation Conference will be held, in which the student will carry out internships in Biology, Biochemistry, Chemistry, Nutrition and Pharmacy; and it will include activities such as Ortiz of Landázuri Commemorative Lectures and the Lecture Hall of Health of the CIMA.

The activities for the "Year of Science" at the University of Navarra have been organized by various centers -Medicine, Pharmacy, Nursing, Center for Applied Medical Research (CIMA) and University Hospital coordinated by the School of Science. Its objective is to "bring ‘real science', the kind carried out by professionals, university professors, students and researchers, to all of society and in particular to the younger generation," explained Ignacio López-Goñi, Dean of the Faculty. In addition, it is an attempt to awaken interest in science and technology and to spread its benefits among society.