MAAT – Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology is preparing for a science weekend, on 1 and 2 June, including free museum tours (MAAT and Power Station buildings) and many activities for the whole family. The event takes place on the weekend when International Children’s Day is celebrated. The purpose is to raise awareness of the younger ones to the issue of Energy, demonstrating its relevance and practical application in our daily tasks. There will also be an opportunity to travel back in time, through secret itineraries in the Power Station, and several experiments with renewable energies, such as solar, wind, thermal and hydro energy.
The excursion will begin in the Coal Square, where there will be a circuit for solar-powered cars, equipped with a solar panel, a battery and an electric engine, which can be controlled by children between 10 and 12 years old. The younger ones will be able to build their own toy solar cars and take part in a race on the race track. For the little ones, from 1 to 5 years old, there will be a solar-powered train operating. Those with a sweet tooth will have the chance to bake carob cakes using solar ovens and take part in a workshop for both children and adults.
Moving along to the oceans, it will be possible to witness a wave generator and an oscillating air column generator in action to see how capturing energy from ocean waves can produce energy, in a demonstration using pilot-power stations. There will also be a track for toy solar boats, in the Control Room, where races with boats built by contestants will take place.
The Condensers Room, at Tejo Power Station, will be staging experiments with several types of energy: thermal, wind and hydro. It will also be possible to watch an electricity grid connected to four different sources of energy production, to build batteries made of two different metals, separated by an acid, to produce electricity, and to experiment with a Van der Graaff particle accelerator.
Visitors will also be able to visit, twice a day, at 12 pm and 4 pm, the Tejo Power Station secret itinerary, an area which is usually closed off to the public, and uncover the history of this station which once lit up Lisbon.
This weekend is part of the Science-related Educational Service which MAAT has been continuously developing throughout the year with programmes and experimental demonstrations, adapted to different types of public, and aimed at stimulating curiosity and the desire to understand the world around us. They invite the visitor to trace the steps that, with each new discovery, enabled the industrial production of electric power.
This event is a partnership with Lisboa E-Nova – Agência de Energia e Ambiente de Lisboa and Rádio Miúdos, the first Portuguese radio station for children. The latter will be there with a mobile studio for a live broadcast which will include the participation of children and their families in their broadcasts, as well as in several activities they have prepared.
