Visit to Madrid's most modern museum, the MUNCYT
This weekend we spent a high-energy afternoon at the Museum of Science and Technology , which opened a little over two months ago in the space occupied until recently by CosmoCaixa. Want to join us for a spin?
We are convinced that science education is vital for children, and today, science cannot be conceived without technology. That's why we love toys that promote education, experimentation, and learning . And that's why we love the MUNCYT (National Institute of Technology) so much. We already knew the one in A Coruña and loved it, and we were eager to have the right time to try out the one in Alcobendas.
We were fortunate enough to take the "Short Circuits" tour, where a guiding thread helps you understand the spirit and purpose of each room. Depending on the group's characteristics, the museum's highly motivated guides, who possess in-depth knowledge of each of the exhibits, vary the theme of the guiding thread, adapting the scientific level to the visitors' ages. We will return at least three more times to take the other guided tours: "Heritage in Depth," "Science Cabinet," and "Biotechnology."
We began the tour promptly at the appointed time, in the "Heritage" area, where the instructor began a series of questions for the kids in the group, such as: "What is heritage? Do you know who owns all the objects in this museum?" "Yours, yours, yours, and yours too," she said, while pointing at the fun people in the group. From the very beginning, with her engaging and educational talk, she won over all the kids.
Below, I summarize the most important points of each space we visited.
In the section "Small Looks Big," we learned the history of the "red" microscope, so known because it was smuggled into the Jimenez Díaz Foundation during the Franco era in the trunk of a private car.
From there we move on to “Fascination,” where you can see, arranged chronologically, a bunch of artifacts and gadgets for making movies, with popular references to Orson Welles, or to the Hasselblad cameras that traveled to the moon without a return ticket, and that must still be there.
In “Prevention is better than cure” we heard stories about Severo Ochoa, the importance of hygiene, we saw the dentist’s chairs from the last century (with the question “Who goes to the dentist…?” included to keep the little ones’ attention), a beautiful ceramic inhaler (not like the plastic ones of today), and we learned the story of the red potty: Who doesn’t poop sitting down for two cents?
In the "Technoevolution" space, we saw the first telegraphs, the skeleton telephone manufactured by Ericsson, the first Telefunken radios, and the gigantic TVs with tiny screens that looked "like encrypted Canal Plus," in the words of our wonderful guide.
From there, we move on to the "Wheels" space, where you can find all kinds of historic vehicles, from unicycles to a wood and leather car from the beginning of the last century, to the more modern "Abarth OT-2000," built from fiberglass in 1968 and capable of reaching a blistering speed of 270 km/h. There, you can even see the motorcycle on which Sete Guibernau's grandfather, Paco Bultó, won several Grand Prix.
In the "Spanish Innovation" section, we learned about the story of Mónico Sánchez Moreno, inventor of the portable X-ray machine. With the money raised from the sale of the patent, he brought water and electricity to his hometown, Piedrabuena, and built a factory that provided jobs for the people of his birthplace and the surrounding area.
From this exhibition space of our visit, we moved upstairs, where we entered the spiral of geolocation. A section called "Mathematics, Astronomy, and Navigation" is located here. In this space, we learned how humanity has always been relentlessly trying to figure out where it is, how to get from one place to another, and the importance of knowing. From the earliest maps of the Maghrebis, where the center of the world was in Morocco, and the entire map is upside down (for us), to astrolabes, crossbows, artillery compasses, and cylindrical calculators, to time measurement systems such as marine chronometers or Republican calendars (as strange as they were ephemeral), here you can get a good idea of how ancient people navigated without GPS, wristwatches, or cell phones. We also learned how resentful the Catholic Church is, taking more than five hundred years to apologize to Galileo, who confirmed that Copernicus's heliocentric theory was true.
With the laughter of the schoolchildren still echoing, we were led to the science lab, where we had a very short tour of the original instruments used to implement the Moyano Law of Public Instruction, stopping to see the most spectacular yet simple ones. Among many other things, we learned that magnetism owes its name to the city of Magnesia, and finally, we saw the application of Newton's law, first on the original instrument from 1857, and then in a YouTube video on the guide's tablet. A very fitting end to this visit.
I have to tell you that the little ones, after more than 45 minutes of raptly listening to the guide, were left wanting to see more and to continue the Ooohs and Ahhhs that accompanied us throughout the visit.
We loved it, and for that I give my sincere congratulations to the museum, and especially to the guide who accompanied us for making the visit so enjoyable.
After the guided tour, we spent more than two hours looking at gadgets, experimenting with equipment, learning about biotechnology, and even had time to participate in the electricity workshop, where, among other things, we received a shock of over 60,000 volts. And we laughed a lot. A lot, a lot.
Regarding the workshops, the guides told us they're open to suggestions for their implementation. Take advantage of this opportunity and send them your ideas to infomuseo@muncyt.es.
It's truly worth it. Kids from first grade onward are learning science in a simple, enjoyable, and accessible way. That's what MUNCYT is, and that's how it should be.
And you, now that you know a little more about the museum, are you going to stay home?
In the section "Small Looks Big," we learned the history of the "red" microscope, so known because it was smuggled into the Jimenez Díaz Foundation during the Franco era in the trunk of a private car.
From there we move on to “Fascination,” where you can see, arranged chronologically, a bunch of artifacts and gadgets for making movies, with popular references to Orson Welles, or to the Hasselblad cameras that traveled to the moon without a return ticket, and that must still be there.
In “Prevention is better than cure” we heard stories about Severo Ochoa, the importance of hygiene, we saw the dentist’s chairs from the last century (with the question “Who goes to the dentist…?” included to keep the little ones’ attention), a beautiful ceramic inhaler (not like the plastic ones of today), and we learned the story of the red potty: Who doesn’t poop sitting down for two cents?
In the "Technoevolution" space, we saw the first telegraphs, the skeleton telephone manufactured by Ericsson, the first Telefunken radios, and the gigantic TVs with tiny screens that looked "like encrypted Canal Plus," in the words of our wonderful guide.
From there, we move on to the "Wheels" space, where you can find all kinds of historic vehicles, from unicycles to a wood and leather car from the beginning of the last century, to the more modern "Abarth OT-2000," built from fiberglass in 1968 and capable of reaching a blistering speed of 270 km/h. There, you can even see the motorcycle on which Sete Guibernau's grandfather, Paco Bultó, won several Grand Prix.
In the "Spanish Innovation" section, we learned about the story of Mónico Sánchez Moreno, inventor of the portable X-ray machine. With the money raised from the sale of the patent, he brought water and electricity to his hometown, Piedrabuena, and built a factory that provided jobs for the people of his birthplace and the surrounding area.
From this exhibition space of our visit, we moved upstairs, where we entered the spiral of geolocation. A section called "Mathematics, Astronomy, and Navigation" is located here. In this space, we learned how humanity has always been relentlessly trying to figure out where it is, how to get from one place to another, and the importance of knowing. From the earliest maps of the Maghrebis, where the center of the world was in Morocco, and the entire map is upside down (for us), to astrolabes, crossbows, artillery compasses, and cylindrical calculators, to time measurement systems such as marine chronometers or Republican calendars (as strange as they were ephemeral), here you can get a good idea of how ancient people navigated without GPS, wristwatches, or cell phones. We also learned how resentful the Catholic Church is, taking more than five hundred years to apologize to Galileo, who confirmed that Copernicus's heliocentric theory was true.
With the laughter of the schoolchildren still echoing, we were led to the science lab, where we had a very short tour of the original instruments used to implement the Moyano Law of Public Instruction, stopping to see the most spectacular yet simple ones. Among many other things, we learned that magnetism owes its name to the city of Magnesia, and finally, we saw the application of Newton's law, first on the original instrument from 1857, and then in a YouTube video on the guide's tablet. A very fitting end to this visit.
I have to tell you that the little ones, after more than 45 minutes of raptly listening to the guide, were left wanting to see more and to continue the Ooohs and Ahhhs that accompanied us throughout the visit.
We loved it, and for that I give my sincere congratulations to the museum, and especially to the guide who accompanied us for making the visit so enjoyable.
After the guided tour, we spent more than two hours looking at gadgets, experimenting with equipment, learning about biotechnology, and even had time to participate in the electricity workshop, where, among other things, we received a shock of over 60,000 volts. And we laughed a lot. A lot, a lot.
Regarding the workshops, the guides told us they're open to suggestions for their implementation. Take advantage of this opportunity and send them your ideas to infomuseo@muncyt.es.
It's truly worth it. Kids from first grade onward are learning science in a simple, enjoyable, and accessible way. That's what MUNCYT is, and that's how it should be.
And you, now that you know a little more about the museum, are you going to stay home?
