Researchers: Jorge Palma

Education levels: 1st, 2nd, 3rd cycle and Secondary

Geographical area: The whole of the Algarve

Notes: Afternoons only

Description: A journey into the discreet world of seahorses, where biology, behaviour and threats intertwine in a setting as fragile as it is fascinating. A lecture to discover what we cannot yet see, and what we can do to protect these unique species.

Researchers: Diana Gonçalves, Teresa Modesto and Peter Hubbard

Education levels: 1st, 2nd, 3rd cycle and Secondary

Geographical area: Faro, Olhão, Loulé, São Brás de Alportel

Notes: mornings only

Description: The senses allow animals to perceive their environment, communicate, find food and survive. In this lecture, we will explore the sense of smell in aquatic animals, discovering how different species detect odours and how scientists study this sensitivity. We will also reflect on how human contaminants interfere with this chemical communication, and finish with a short game on the topics covered.

Researchers: Caio Ribeiro

Education levels: Primary, Secondary and Sixth Form

Geographical area: Faro

Description: In this session, we will learn more about marine life and the processes that regulate the ocean, from the coast to the deep sea. I will also share what daily life is like on board research vessels, showing how we do science in the ocean and why this is important for understanding and protecting the planet.

Researchers: João Cardoso

Education levels: 2nd and 3rd cycles

Geographical area: Faro, Olhão

Notes: mornings only

Description: Climate change directly affects the quality of life on Earth, especially the health of marine organisms such as bivalves, which filter water and accumulate contaminants. This has an immediate impact on their survival and can cause food poisoning when consumed by humans. This lecture aims to raise students' awareness of the relationship between climate change, environmental contaminants and food safety, especially in seafood products.

Researchers: João Cardoso

Education levels: 2nd and 3rd cycle, Secondary

Geographical area: Faro, Olhão

Description: Did you know that a third of the food produced ends up in the bin, contributing to serious social, economic and environmental impacts? Food waste represents a huge waste of resources and energy, increasing carbon emissions in a context of growing population and limited resources. This lecture aims to raise awareness of this issue and highlight the urgent need to act to ensure the sustainability of the planet.

Researchers: João Cardoso

Education levels: 2nd and 3rd cycle, Secondary

Geographical area: Faro, Olhão

Description: Our appearance — such as the colour of our eyes, hair or skin — is determined by our genome, the DNA we inherit from our parents, which contains all our genetic information. The study of the human genome and that of other species has revealed how the body works and supported the discovery of treatments for various diseases. This lecture will present what the genome is, its importance, recent advances in research and the ethical issues associated with the use of genetic information.

Researchers: Joana Ferreira Leal

Education levels: 1st, 2nd, 3rd cycle and Secondary

Geographical area: Portimão, Faro

Description: This activity aims to educate participants about some of the chemical processes that ensure or disrupt the balance of the marine ecosystem, using concrete examples such as ocean acidification. The activity will also introduce bio(molecules) from marine organisms with enormous bioactive potential and applications in different sectors.

Researchers: Maria Leonor Ferrão

Education levels: 3rd cycle, Secondary

Geographical area: Carvoeiro to Vila Real Santo António

Notes: morning only

Description: In this session, we will talk about how aquaculture is emerging as an essential food resource for our future, ensuring sustainable food production. Through the mastery of reproduction techniques, it is possible to increase production efficiency while preserving natural ecosystems.

Researchers: Carina Mónico

Education levels: Primary, Secondary and Sixth Form

Geographical area: Faro, Olhão, Loulé, São Brás de Alportel

Description: Did you know that there are scientists who spend their days capturing incredible photographs and videos of life that we cannot see with our own eyes? In this lecture, I will show you what bioimaging is and how it works on a microscopy platform, exploring a hidden world — from tiny marine creatures to the cells that sustain life. And as we magnify the invisible, we will discover how these images contribute to scientific advancement and transform the way we see the world.

Researchers: Patricia Pinto

Education levels: Secondary

Geographical area: Faro, Loulé, Olhão

Notes: mornings only

Description: Like the nervous system, our endocrine system uses our hormones to ensure that our entire body functions in balance, from the level of sugars we absorb to our development as babies or during puberty. However, a variety of environmental pollutants, medicines and other everyday products can cause this control to go wrong, and we need to know what to avoid.

Researchers: Patricia Pinto

Education levels: Secondary

Geographical area: Faro, Loulé, Olhão

Notes: morning only

Description: This lecture reveals the invisible threats of various micropollutants to which we and marine animals are exposed in our environments, their origins and dangers, how we can help monitor them, and what daily actions we can take and teach our families to reduce marine pollution, protect marine animals, and contribute to a more sustainable future.

Researchers: Patricia Pinto

Education levels: Secondary

Geographical area: Faro, Loulé, Olhão

Notes: mornings only

Description:  Technological advances in the field of mass sequencing have allowed us to discover a wide variety of microbes that live in balance in our bodies or our environment, hitherto unknown and uncultivable. Most of these are harmless and even beneficial, helping us to digest, defend ourselves, contributing to our food and the air we breathe, among many other functions. In this lecture, we will reveal a little of this ‘brave new world’ that has evolved with us since our origins.   

Researchers: Susana Campar Almeida

Education levels: Primary, Secondary and Sixth Form

Geographical area:

Description: A journey from the origin of life to today's enormous marine diversity. The lecture explores adaptive radiations, convergent evolution, recent discoveries and the mechanisms that shape blue biodiversity.

Researchers: Susana Campar Almeida

Education levels: 1st, 2nd, 3rd cycle and Secondary

Geographical area: The whole of the Algarve

Description: Exploration of marine biodiversity, food webs and the functioning of coastal and ocean ecosystems. Includes real challenges related to management and conservation.

Researchers: Maria Clara Costa

Education levels: 3rd cycle, Secondary

Geographical area: The whole of the Algarve

Description: Pollution from heavy metals, pharmaceuticals and microplastics threatens ecosystems and human health. Bacteria and algae act as veritable ‘living treatment plants’, capable of degrading or removing contaminants. Environmental biotechnology shows how natural solutions can make the future more sustainable.

Researchers: Zélia Velez

Education levels: 2nd and 3rd cycle, Secondary

Geographical area: The whole of the Algarve

Description: Climate change is mainly the result of increased CO₂ in the atmosphere, which causes global warming and environmental imbalances. Much of this CO₂ is absorbed by the oceans, causing water acidification and threatening marine species. This activity addresses this phenomenon and, optionally, students can observe how pH variation affects the calcified structures of marine organisms.

Researchers: Joana Cruz and Vânia Baptista

Education levels: 3rd cycle, Secondary

Geographical area: Between Albufeira and Olhão

Description: Microplastics are present in virtually all ecosystems and pose a growing threat to marine life and human health. In this activity, students will explore what they are, where they come from and why they are so problematic. Optionally, they can observe microplastics in environmental samples to better understand their real impact.

Researchers: Joana Cruz and Vânia Baptista

Education levels: Primary, lower secondary, upper secondary and sixth form

Geographical area: Between Albufeira and Olhão

Description: The ‘little fish’, which includes several species endemic to São Tomé and Príncipe, has an anadromous life cycle, migrating between rivers and the ocean and sustaining important local fisheries. In recent years, communities have reported a decline in this resource, making it urgent to expand knowledge about its biology, ecology and sustainable management. The activity combines a theoretical component with images and videos, followed by practical observation of larvae and adults.

Researchers: Inês Ferreira Guedes, Rita Costa Abecasis, João Neiva

Education levels: 1st, 2nd, 3rd cycle and Secondary

Geographical area: The whole of the Algarve

Description: Beneath the sea's surface lie seagrass meadows, veritable underwater forests that clean the water, protect marine life and store large amounts of carbon. These forests are quietly disappearing, making it urgent that we understand their importance. In this lecture, students are invited to explore this hidden world and discover the work of the RESTORESEAGRASS project in restoring these essential habitats.

Researchers: Marta Oliveira

Education levels: 1st, 2nd, 3rd cycle and Secondary

Geographical area: Faro, Olhão, Loulé, São Brás de Alportel, Albufeira, Silves, Lagoa, Portimão. 

Description: Halophytes are extraordinary species capable of living in salty environments where few others survive. In this lecture, we will explore what makes them so special, how they adapt to extreme conditions and why they are gaining importance in areas such as conservation, sustainable agriculture and food. A journey into the world of plants that turn salt into opportunity.

Researchers: Pedro Guerreiro

Education levels: 3rd cycle and Secondary

Geographical area: all of the Algarve

Description: Climate change is rapidly transforming the polar regions, profoundly affecting the organisms that have evolved there over millions of years. This lecture shows how these beings adapt to extreme conditions, how the polar environment is changing and whether they will be able to keep up with these changes, also addressing how scientific research is conducted in Antarctica.

Researchers: Teresa Correia, Sandra Rebocho

Educational levels: 1st, 2nd and 3rd cycle

Geographical area: Faro, Olhão, Loulé, São Brás, Albufeira e Tavira.

Description: In this talk using lasers and gummies, we will explore how white light contains many colours and how laser light has only one. We will discover how light interacts with objects to create shadows, colours, and 3D images, just like in the microscopes used at CCMAR, including fluorescence visualization.

Researchers: Teresa Correia, Sandra Rebocho

Educational levels: 1st, 2nd, 3rd cycle and Secondary

Geographical area: Faro, Olhão, Loulé, São Brás, Albufeira e Tavira.

Description: Bioimaging techniques allow us to observe biological processes and internal structures at different scales, from the micro to the macro. In this lecture, we will show how various techniques used in biology and medicine work. We will also see how programming and artificial intelligence help to improve and interpret these images.

Researchers: Rita Camacho, Joana Filipe, Aschwin Engelen

Education levels: Primary, Secondary and Sixth Form

Geographical area: Faro

Description: This workshop begins with a brief presentation on the microbiome and its role in the relationships between microorganisms and host organisms. This is followed by a practical component adapted to the number and age of the participants, which may include simulating the isolation of bacteria, preparing material for plating with macroalgae, an interactive quiz or activities involving drawing colony morphologies. There will also be demonstrations of laboratory equipment to give students an insight into real scientific work.

Researchers: Inês Ferreira Guedes, Rita Costa Abecasis

Education levels: Primary, Secondary and Sixth Form

Geographical area: The whole of the Algarve

Description: In this workshop, pupils immerse themselves in the world of seagrass beds and discover why they are true guardians of the coast, biodiversity and climate. Through dynamic activities, they explore how restoration efforts — such as the RESTORESEAGRASS project — are bringing these essential habitats back to life. At the end, each participant understands how they too can be part of this preservation mission.