{"id":2803,"date":"2025-10-16T12:26:42","date_gmt":"2025-10-16T12:26:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iculture-project.eu\/?p=2803"},"modified":"2025-10-16T12:30:03","modified_gmt":"2025-10-16T12:30:03","slug":"iculture-at-the-european-researchers-night-2025-from-bioreactors-to-blue-treasures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iculture-project.eu\/index.php\/2025\/10\/16\/iculture-at-the-european-researchers-night-2025-from-bioreactors-to-blue-treasures\/","title":{"rendered":"iCULTURE at the European Researchers\u2019 Night 2025: From Bioreactors to Blue Treasures"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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iCULTURE at the European Researchers\u2019 Night 2025: From Bioreactors to Blue Treasures<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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This September, the iCULTURE project once again brought cutting-edge science to the public, taking part in the European Researchers\u2019 Night 2025<\/strong> in Norway<\/strong> and Italy<\/strong>\u2014two vibrant events that turned research into a shared adventure of curiosity, creativity, and discovery.<\/p>

Norway: Playing with Science at NTNU\u2019s Researchers\u2019 Night<\/strong><\/span><\/p>

At the NTNU<\/a> Campus Gl\u00f8shaugen in Trondheim<\/strong>, iCULTURE joined the 21st edition<\/strong> of Norway\u2019s largest Researchers\u2019 Night, part of the national Science Week celebration. The event welcomed over 1,100 high school students and teachers<\/strong> from across Tr\u00f8ndelag, eager to explore science through interactive stands, lectures, and lab visits.<\/p>

For the second consecutive year<\/strong>, the iCULTURE Lab at NTNU<\/strong> hosted an interactive booth blending engineering, microbiology, and digital technology. Visitors met iCULTURE\u2019s PhD researchers and discovered how seaweed can support sustainable bacterial fermentations<\/strong>\u2014a central theme of the project. To illustrate how scientists control bacterial growth in bioreactors<\/strong>, the team designed a playful arcade-style game<\/strong>. Students caught falling fruits\u2014each representing acids or bases\u2014causing real-time shifts in the pH of a connected bioreactor<\/strong>, visualised through changing colors. The challenge? Achieve the perfect \u201ctarget color,\u201d symbolising precise process control.<\/p>

This lively demonstration made concepts like cybernetics<\/strong>, process regulation<\/strong>, and biochemical balance<\/strong> both tangible and entertaining. For many students, it was their first encounter with the fascinating world of biotechnology and digital control systems<\/strong>, leaving them inspired by how software, biology, and engineering can work together to shape sustainable innovation.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Italy: Sailing the Blue Treasure Hunt in Frascati<\/strong><\/span><\/p>

Meanwhile in Italy, iCULTURE teamed up with the EU-funded project BlueMissionMed<\/strong> to lead the Blue Treasure Hunt<\/strong> at the European Researchers\u2019 Night \u2013 LEAF 2025<\/strong>, promoted by Frascati Scienza<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>

More than 500 participants<\/strong>\u2014mostly children and families\u2014embarked on an interactive journey through five \u201cknowledge islands\u201d: Ocean Literacy, Biodiversity, Blue Economy, Threats to Waters<\/strong>, and Active Citizenship<\/strong>. At each island, playful challenges, mini-experiments, and creative tasks turned science into an adventure.<\/p>

Every young explorer carried a Blue Passport<\/strong>, collecting stamps at each completed station. Those who visited all five islands earned their final treasure: a copy of \u201cOur Blue Treasure\u201d<\/em>, the children\u2019s book created within the BlueMissionMed project, designed to inspire curiosity and care for our ocean and waters.<\/p>

The iCULTURE exhibition added a unique science\u2013art touch to the event, combining visual storytelling and scientific insight. Meanwhile, across the five Blue Treasure Hunt<\/strong> stations, participants explored different aspects related to macroalgae: they examined real seaweed samples<\/strong> and learned about professions linked to marine research and innovation<\/strong>\u2014from biologists studying algae to scientists using them as bioresources for sustainable products.<\/p>

Led by FVA \u2013 New Media Research<\/strong><\/a> with the scientific guidance of marine biologist Martina Gaglioti<\/strong> and the support of ARPA Lazio<\/a> experts<\/strong> Filippo Fratini<\/strong>, Martina Fustolo<\/strong>, and Andrea Bonifazi<\/strong>, the Blue Treasure Hunt brought science to life through play, exploration, and imagination.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Inspiring Curiosity Across Europe<\/strong><\/span><\/p>

From Trondheim\u2019s cybernetic bioreactors to Frascati\u2019s ocean-themed treasure maps, iCULTURE\u2019s participation in the European Researchers\u2019 Night 2025 showed that science communication can be both fun and transformative. By merging AI, biotechnology, art, and education<\/strong>, iCULTURE continues to demonstrate how engaging the public in science can spark curiosity and inspire the next generation of researchers, innovators, and ocean citizens.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

iCULTURE at the European Researchers\u2019 Night 2025: From Bioreactors to Blue Treasures This September, the iCULTURE project once again brought cutting-edge science to the public, taking part in the European Researchers\u2019 Night 2025 in Norway and Italy\u2014two vibrant events that turned research into a shared adventure of curiosity, creativity, and discovery. Norway: Playing with Science … <\/p>\n

Read more “iCULTURE at the European Researchers\u2019 Night 2025: From Bioreactors to Blue Treasures”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2805,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2803","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iculture-project.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2803","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iculture-project.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iculture-project.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iculture-project.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iculture-project.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2803"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/iculture-project.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2803\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2831,"href":"https:\/\/iculture-project.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2803\/revisions\/2831"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iculture-project.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2805"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iculture-project.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2803"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iculture-project.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2803"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iculture-project.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2803"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}