Yesterday, the closing ceremony of the eighth edition of the educational program "CientífiKs en Joc" was held, where the best video game design inspired by a Catalan researcher was awarded. "Marta's Secret Laboratory," based on the research of IRTA researcher at CRAG Marta Pujol and designed by the students of the Mowgli School in Igualada, was the winning video game among the 14 proposals of the 2024-2025 edition.

The "CientífiKs en Joc" program, an educational initiative of the Directorate General for Research of the Department of Research and Universities of the Generalitat de Catalunya aimed at 5th-grade students, has had the outstanding participation of CRAG in its eighth edition. The main objective of the program is to promote a taste for science, foster creativity and teamwork through the design of a video game and give visibility to Catalan researchers.

In this 2024-2025 edition, the central theme has been sustainable food, an area that directly connects with the research carried out at our centre. Two CRAG scientists have participated this year:

• CSIC researcher at CRAG, Núria Sánchez-Coll, collaborated with the students of the Vedruna School in Sallent in the design of the video game inspired by her work titled "Núria and the Tomato War," based on Núria's work on plant defence against pests.
• And IRTA researcher at CRAG, Marta Pujol, jointly designed with the students of the Mowgli School in Igualada the video game "Marta's Secret Laboratory," based on Marta's research on fruit ripening.

Marta Pujol, main character of the winning video game of “CientífiKs en Joc” 2024-2025: “It has been a great surprise to see all the work that the fifth-grade children of the Mowgli School Foundation in Igualada have been doing. That they have been able to capture the research we do here at IRTA and CRAG, and also that it has the recognition of being able to generate this video game, is a prize for everyone, for me first. I am super happy and congratulations to Marta, the fifth-grade teacher, and to all the children who have done an excellent job throughout the year.”

The video game "Marta's Secret Laboratory" will become a reality in the 2025-2026 school year thanks to the collaboration with the students of the School of Interactive New Technologies at the University of Barcelona.

Visit of the schools to CRAG

At the end of the gala, both schools had the opportunity to visit the CRAG facilities. This visit welcomed a total of 42 children (17 from the Mowgli School and 25 from the Vedruna School) along with their companions.

The students were able to see the laboratories where Núria and Marta work, where experimental demonstrations related to the work of each of them were carried out. The facilities were also visited to learn about the wide variety of species and applications of research at CRAG.

The active participation of CRAG in "CientífiKs en Joc", with the involvement of its researchers, highlights the centre’s commitment to scientific dissemination and the promotion of women in science.