We offer tours of MareNostrum to third and fourth-year primary school classes to tell them what supercomputers are and what they can be used for in a fun and female-focused way.
They are free two-hour tours with eight games for kids to learn what a supercomputer is, what it is for, who uses it and some basic concepts from the world of supercomputing and computational thinking.
Teachers who specialize in science show students what it means to program and give instructions to a computer, play at simulating the seafloor and test the benefits of parallel calculation, which is the method that supercomputers use to produce results more quickly. They also discover the importance of data in understanding our environment, connectivity and energy efficiency.
During these tours, which are suitable for boys and girls, students are constantly surrounded by female role models. The purpose of showing them mostly women working with the supercomputer is to convey the message that technology is also for women.
One of the key parts of the tour is the MareNostrum song by the pop group Macedònia in which the band members are “scientists” who use the supercomputer to make discoveries. Don't forget to listen to it before you go on the tour!! When you get to BSC we will listen to it and sing and dance to it together.
Visits and activities for primary schools are part of the scientific outreach project called “We are young women researchers"; through which we seek to contribute to increasing schoolchildren's interest in STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), particularly focusing on girls.
Bridging the gender gap in the science and technology field is one of the objectives of this program, which we carry out in collaboration with Barcelona City Council.
