Extraterrestrial life and the social robot Pepper stars of the school sessions at the Velodrome

During the week of the San Sebastian Festival, more than 13,000 students aged between 6 and 11 from 90 schools will enjoy the morning sessions of Ikastetxeak Belodromoan, an encounter between cinema and science that has become a gala for the little ones. Every day, the giant screen of the Velodrome will host the screening of “Alan Giza Antena”, a film about friendship and extraterrestrial life, which will be preceded by a Velodrome transformed into an improvised astronomical observatory. All this in the company of the social robot Pepper, who has once again enthused the young audience together with his new friend Aatxe.

Under the slogan Donostia. City of cinema, city of science, this activity is co-organised from 2019 by the San Sebastian Festival, the Donostia International Physics Center (DIPC) and the Basque Film Archive, with the goal of transmitting an attractive image of science and making new generations more aware of San Sebastian's strong links with scientific research.

Astronomer Naiara Barrado from the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) is the guest scientist in this new edition. She is a researcher in the Planetary Sciences Group of the Bilbao School of Engineering and is specialized in the study of the atmospheric dynamics of Jupiter. For her research she uses data from space missions, such as the Hubble Space Telescope and the Cassini or Juno probes, as well as observations with multiple telescopes based on Earth.

Together with Naiara, the Velodrome embarks on a journey through the universe to try to answer the big question about the existence of extraterrestrial life. In words of the astronomer, “we don't know if there is life beyond Earth, but primitive life forms are being sought on Mars or on the moons of Jupiter. Outside the solar system, finding more developed life on a planet similar to our own is certainly a possibility, even if it is remote. It would be an incredible scientific milestone.” Naiara's words merges with images of the immensity of the cosmos and for a few moments there is an awe-inspiring silence amidst the energy of the children's audience.

Another surprise was the return of the now ‘famous’ social robot. And of course, he did so as host to present the event together with Ugaitz Alegría. He also introduced to the Velodrome his new friend Aatxe, a quadruped robot with all kinds of acrobatic skills. This special session has been possible thanks to the collaboration of Elena Lazkano, Igor Rodriguez, Unai Zabala and Eneko Atxa, members of the robotics research group of the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) / Robotics and Autonomous Systems (RSAIT). The event ended as a real party in which Pepper and Aatxe danced together with an enthusiastic audience.

The poster for this year's Ikastetxeak Belodromoan is a tribute to childhood and the wonder that science awakens, and has been created for the occasion by the San Sebastian illustrator Ane Arzelus with graphic design by Arteuparte.