SMARTLAGOON at the 2024 European Researchers’ Night
The European Researchers’ Night is an annual event that takes place in hundreds of cities across Europe, aimed at bringing science closer to the public through interactive activities like experiments, talks, and exhibitions. Funded by the EU, it engages people of all ages, promoting science education, fostering public understanding of how research addresses global challenges and impacts everyday life, and inspiring young people to pursue careers in research.
On September 27, we were excited to present our latest prototype at the 2024 edition of the European Researchers’ Night in Cesena, organized by the University of Bologna at the Malatesta Library, near the Cesena Campus. The event was the perfect opportunity to test our interactive narrative visualization: Sketchlagoon. Sketchlagoon offers a unique way to raise awareness about the environmental challenges facing the Mar Menor lagoon through a combination of children’s drawings and interactive experiences. The application guides users through an engaging journey of discovery, starting with the importance of saltwater lagoons globally, before zooming in on the Mar Menor and the SMARTLAGOON initiative. Users can then explore elements from drawings created by local children, which are brought to life in an interactive format.
During the event, visitors of all ages, particularly school-aged children, interacted with the app. This hands-on experience helped raise awareness of the lagoon’s fragile ecosystem while offering a fun and educational way to engage with science and environmental conservation. The positive feedback we received highlights the potential of this tool to inspire young minds and foster a deeper connection to nature and the urgent need to protect it. Thanks to the suggestions of all the people who tried out the app, we are now working on improving it further before we bring it to a wider audience.
A special thanks goes to the 23 children who created the wonderful drawings we used in our visualization. All of this wouldn’t have been possible without these two classes of the “Felix Rodriguez de La Fuente” primary school in Los Nietos (Mar Menor), which participated in a citizen science activity back in 2022, where they expressed their views on the Mar Menor’s ecosystem using art. We can’t wait for them to try out Sketchlagoon!
