Antartica en tu ciudad: un recorrido visual por la aventura científica
Constanza Barrientos - Millenium Institute BASE
Valdivia, July 2025. What does it mean to conduct scientific research in Antarctica? What challenges do researchers face in one of the most remote and extreme environments on Earth? These questions take center stage at the interactive photo exhibition “Antártica en tu ciudad: Un recorrido por la aventura científica / Antarctica in Your City: Scientific Adventure in a Nutshell”, organized by APECS-Chile. The event took place on July 26 and 27 at the Philippi Museum in Valdivia.
The exhibition offered a unique opportunity to explore Antarctic science through the eyes of early-career researchers. These young scientists guided visitors through a curated selection of photographs, sharing their firsthand experiences—from the logistics of traveling to the White Continent and conducting fieldwork, to the process of communicating scientific results with society. Among the photographs were also biodiversity records, where those that generated the most attention were the little-noticed or "non-charismatic" animals such as the Antarctic fly and the ice fish, which most of the visitors had never seen before.In addition to the guided tours, visitors enjoyed complimentary coffee and left their comments in a question section. This invited attendees to reflect on what they had learned from the exhibition and to talk with scientists, including a question of what they would like to see in a future APECS-Chile activity to use as feedback and future improvements.
Constanza Barrientos - Millenium Institute BASE
This initiative aimed to bridge the gap between science and society, increase the visibility of early-career researchers, and inspire public interest in the diverse scientific efforts underway in Antarctica.
The activity was part of the XII Chilean Antarctic Science Congress and the X Latin American Congress of Antarctic Science, held at Universidad Austral de Chile and organized by Centro IDEAL. As an outreach initiative led by APECS-Chile, the exhibition was designed to be accessible to the local community, scientific institutions, students, and the general public—inviting everyone to engage with the stories of the young Chilean researchers working at the end of the world.
More information: https://x.com/ApecsChile/status/1944787142095319278
Authors: Claudia Maturana, Valentina Bernal-Durán, Melanie Delleuze, Andreas Schmider, Marcelo Lizama, Zambra López, Daniela Nualart, Sebastián Rosenfeld y Julia Saravia
