The IRTA Fruitcentre opened its doors last Friday as part of the European Researchers’ Night in Catalonia, an initiative held simultaneously in hundreds of European cities with the aim of bringing science closer to citizens.

The program included a guided tour of the Fruitcentre facilities and seven workshops where children and adults experimented and learned first-hand about agri-food research and its role in producing safer, healthier, and more sustainable food.

Among the most notable activities were the interactive reading of the story “Rita and the Best Bread in the World”, a workshop on in vitro plant cultivation, experiments to understand why bread rises or what happens to fruit once picked from the tree, and more technological proposals such as creative cooking with fermentations, spherifications, and 3D food printing. There was also a workshop on how to grow stronger plants through the study of soil, plants, and the atmosphere, as well as another on the secrets of fruit through visible and infrared light, using sensors that can detect internal defects in apples.

As a novelty this year, participating children received the “Young Researcher’s Passport,” a scientific booklet they could stamp at each activity, turning the visit into a true discovery mission.

The event was made possible thanks to the collaboration between IRTA, the University of Lleida (UdL), the Lleida City Council, and the Lleida Provincial Council, and it allowed the center’s research to be shared with the community from a participatory and approachable perspective.