Taking science to the pub is a global phenomenon, with initiatives such as Pint of Science, which originated at Imperial College London and is now a success at Oxford, Yale, Cambridge, Princeton and the Sorbonne. Using this format, last November, the Vigo Oceanographic Centre of the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO) organised a series of informal debates called “Along the Sea in a Bar”.
Now, to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the arrival of the Nautilus in Vigo and the 140th anniversary of Verne’s first visit to the city, the Jules Verne Hispanic Society and the Campus do Mar are organizing the scientific conference series “A Verne Sea in Vigo”, with the participation of the University of Vigo, the Vigo Oceanographic Center (IEO) and the Institute of Marine Research (CSIC).
There will be four informative talks, which will be held on four Wednesdays in February, March, April and May. The event will take place at the La Pecera pub, located at 35 Pizarro Street, starting at 8:00 p.m. There, for one hour, prominent researchers will help us discover the secrets of the Vigo estuary, just as Captain Nemo did 150 years ago in Jules Verne’s novel.
The format of these scientific talks in the pub allows for a relaxed atmosphere that facilitates dialogue, questions and debate with the public. In addition, all talks are accompanied by audiovisual presentations, in which we can explore from the depths of the Vigo estuary to the treasures of the Cíes Islands.
The scheduled dates and talks are as follows:
– Wednesday 7 February: The Vigo estuary aboard the Nautilus. Biologist Manuel E. Garci, from the Institute of Marine Research (CSIC), invites us to an underwater tour of the Vigo estuary, contemplating the same landscape as Captain Nemo aboard the Nautilus. Garci, winner of numerous underwater film awards, will show us images of the seabed of Rande, where Nemo’s divers explored in ‘20,000 Leagues Under the Sea’. Oceanographer Lara García Alves, also from the CSIC in Vigo, will talk about this novel, analyzing the great diversity of species that appear in this literary classic, where the Kraken is not the only protagonist.
-Wednesday, March 21. Verne’s fauna. Two zoologists will present the underwater fauna that Jules Verne describes in ‘20,000 Leagues Under the Sea’. Jesús Troncoso, director of the Marine Research Center of the University of Vigo, will present the fish that Captain Nemo encountered, while Ángel Guerra, from the CSIC, will talk about the mythical ‘Kraken’, the giant squid that attacked the submarine Nautilus in a passage in the novel. The presentation will be complemented with images of the giant squid specimens studied by Ángel Guerra in recent years. Both scientists will try to satisfy the curiosity of those present.
-Wednesday 18 April. This is what the Vigo estuary looked like 150 years ago. A journey through time to discover what the Vigo estuary and its surroundings were like around 1968, the year the Nautilus visited it in the novel ‘20,000 Leagues Under the Sea’. Through old maps and images from different eras, we will learn how the Vigo estuary has changed in the last century and a half. Gonzalo Méndez, professor at the University of Vigo, will be in charge of transporting us back in time.
-Wednesday, May 9. A sea of colors for the Nautilus. In this scientific talk, we will discover fascinating facts about the algae mentioned by Jules Verne in several of his works, especially two species of microalgae that appear in ‘20,000 Leagues Under the Sea’. These are Noctiluca and Trichodesmium, which have the unique ability to dye seawater or produce bioluminescence. Francisco Rodríguez, researcher at the Vigo Oceanographic Center (IEO), will take us on a journey through the seabed, together with Captain Nemo’s divers, to learn about these two fascinating species.
Admission to the scientific talks is free and open to the public until capacity is reached.
‘A Sea of Verne in Vigo’
Pub La Pecera
Rua Pizarro, 35
VIGO 36204
