Present

The training day 'Eclipses. The eclipse in the classroom' aims to promote STEM vocations, create female role models and guarantee safe observation of the astronomical phenomenon that will take place on August 12, 2026

The Department of Research and Universities hosted the training session for researchers participating in the Eclipses project. The eclipse in the Classroom, an initiative organized by the Department of Research and Universities and the Department of Education and Professional Training with the support of the Catalan Foundation for Research and Innovation (FCRI) that mobilizes around thirty researchers from fields related to space sciences.

The meeting served to coordinate the nearly fifty talks that will be held in educational centers for students in 6th grade of primary school and 1st grade of secondary school on the occasion of the eclipse. The project is part of the ‘Catalonia looks to the sky’ program, which coordinates the information campaign and the actions to coordinate the logistics and security of the Government in relation to the upcoming total solar eclipse on August 12, 2026, an exceptional event that has not been seen in Catalonia for 121 years.

The event’s main themes were the promotion of scientific vocations, with the stimulation of interest in science from primary and secondary education; the vindication of female role models highlighting the role of women in research and universities in the country, and the dissemination of knowledge of the cosmos, explaining in a participatory way what an eclipse is and how it occurs.

During the training session, the researchers received pedagogical materials developed by the FCRI, the Institute of Space Studies of Catalonia (IEEC) and the Institute of Cosmos Sciences (ICCUB) to carry out dynamic sessions. The classroom talks will include a fundamental part dedicated to safety, emphasizing the mandatory use of approved glasses (ISO 12312-2) and the risks of looking directly at the Sun.