Sponsors
GOVERNMENT OF NAVARRA
Our team is sponsored by Government of Navarra through its educative program called Planeta STEM, whose objective is to encourage youngsters to choose and study scientific and technological degrees. The educative programme is managed by Pamplona's Planetarium, a science divulgation center belongs to NICDO, the Navarrese Governmental organization for innovation and the promotion of Industry, Culture, Sport and Leisure.
Navarre enjoys a privileged setting on the Atlantic Seaboard.(Image Credit: Navarra.es)
THE REGION OF NAVARRA
The territory and its people
Navarre, the Comunidad Foral de Navarra, is situated in the North of Spain, at the western end of the Pyrenees, where it shares a 163-kilometre stretch of frontier with France. It has a land area of 10,391.08 square kilometres and is bordered, to the east, by Aragon -its provinces of Huesca and Zaragoza- to the south by Aragon and La Rioja, and to the northwest by the Basque Autonomous Community -Alava and Guipuzcoa -.
Population
The number of inhabitants has risen from 307,000 in 1900 to 640,000 currently and the density has grown from 29 inhabitants per square kilometre to 55. The population growth in Navarre has been below the Spanish average and density continues to be low.
The growth of district administrative centres, and especially of Pamplona and its metropolitan areas, has evolved at the expense of draining population from areas in which small rural hamlets prevail.
INSTITUTIONS: NICDO-PLANETARIUM OF PAMPLONA & CSIC
Planeta STEM is managed by Pamplona's Planetarium, which belongs to NICDO, the Navarrese Governmental organization for innovation and the promotion of Industry, Culture, Sport and Leisure, whose objective is to encourage youngsters to choose and study scientific and technological degrees.
Navarra de Infraestructuras de Cultura, Deporte y Ocio (NICDO) directly manages the Baluarte Conference Centre and Auditorium of Navarre, the Pamplona Planetarium, the Larra-Belagua Ski Area and the Navarra Arena (since its opening in September 2018). In addition, it controls the outsourced management of the Navarra Exhibition Centre (managed by the company REFENA, S.L.) and the Navarre Circuit (managed by the company Los Arcos MotorSport, or LAMS). The NICDO manages the Navarre Film Library and the Navarra Film Commission and provides communication and management services for the Baluarte Foundation, an independent entity that is in charge of the programming of the Baluarte Auditorium and the Navarre Symphony Orchestra and the co-production of the Dance, Theatre, Cinema and Music Festivals of the Directorate-General for Culture of the Government of Navarre.
The planetarium of Pamplona is a cultural center that enables the public to come directly into contact with astronomy and the mysteries of the universe. Without moving from their chairs, visitors watching the shows begin a journey through space during which they can see 9,000 stars, accelerate the passage of time by hours, days, and years, discover new firmaments, observe the birth and death of a star, escape from the laws of space and time and witness the birth of the universe itself.
Situated in Yamaguchi Park, next to Sancho Ramírez Street, the 20-meter projection dome of the Pamplona Planetarium is one of the largest in the world. So, it is a good place to inspire young people to take care of our planet and show why STEM studies are important for the future of Navarra.
Finally, our iGEM project is also supported by researchers and scientists of IdAB-CSIC, the Spanish National Research Council. It´s a State Agency for scientific research and technological development. Scientists of CSIC have been the team´s teachers during the project, and we have used their installations in the Institute of Agrobiotechnology (IdAB) in order to work on our project.
