Empowering students in science as part of primary school education is one of the main targets of the members of the Food and Health Lab (CEBAS-CSIC). In line with the projects we are working on, Dr. González Sarrías, Dr. Ávila Gálvez and Dr. Giménez Bastida prepared a range of exciting and engaging videos and activities to show the environment of our laboratory to the students.
The primary school we visited this time was "Nuestra Señora de Atocha" in Región de Murcia (Spain). We organized different sessions with students from 7 to 11 years old. These sessions started with a video describing the benefits associated with the consumption of plant-derived foodstuff and the role of the interaction (poly)phenols/gut microbiota. The students also learned with us the structure of the gastrointestinal system and they meet gut microorganisms (Figure 1). They also discovered the organs of the nervous and cardiovascular system in which (poly)phenols can be detected. Besides, the hands-on scientific activities, the students were also involved in a comparative assay to determine the (poly)phenol content in different vegetables.