Study reports changes in the activities of the UFES Biology Fair during the pandemic

Source: Reproduced from YouTube/@@labpopufes

The study “The UFES Biology Fair: A Virtual Non-Formal Space for Science Education” is an exploratory research project that examines the effects of shifting the Biology Fair’s activities to a remote learning format during 2020 and 2021. The Biology Fair is an extension project that is part of the Science Fair, along with the Statistics, Physics, Mathematics, and Chemistry fairs, all of which are open to the public both inside and outside the University.

The study was published in issue No. 18 of Guará Journal, a journal affiliated with the UFES Pro-Rectorate for Extension (ProEx), which focused in part on the dissemination of scientific knowledge through new media, such as the internet. Still in the wake of the restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic, the report on the Biology Fair joins other articles in the issue that explore how extension activities have adapted to public health restrictions. According to the Pro-Rector of Extension, Ednilson Silva, the publication of research on the impacts of the health emergency on academia as late as 2025 “signals just how much this event has brought about lasting and profound changes in our daily lives and that the research and interventions aimed at understanding these effects on our lives are likely to continue,” he said.

Prior to the restrictions, the Fair was held in person, featuring exhibits and interactive activities, as well as educational aids such as pinned or taxidermied animals, fossils, shells, exoskeletons, skulls, bones, botanical materials, and more. In response to the pandemic, the project joined the movement to create virtual learning communities by migrating the activity—which had traditionally been conducted in person—to online platforms. In-person instruction was replaced by live online broadcasts of academic and scientific lectures—commonly referred to as “lives”—as well as videos of “roundtable” style debates, workshops, and mini-courses. All content was recorded and later made available to the public on YouTube and Google Classroom.

The study found that the online format facilitated participation by university students and members of the external community from regional campuses in the state, such as Anchieta, Domingos Martins, Iconha, and Linhares. Before the pandemic, these locations were served by the traveling version of the Fair, which was held less frequently due to logistical costs. Regarding participant satisfaction, the authors also concluded that the Fair was well-received, particularly by undergraduate students and professors—the majority of the live stream audience from various states across the country—who overwhelmingly approved of the virtual format.

Due to the academic and theoretical nature the event took on in this new format, there was a shift in the profile of the Fair’s participants. Previously, most of the audience consisted of elementary and high school students who visited the Fair during school field trips. The authors concluded that the wider variety of in-person activities offered at the event gave it an interactive and playful nature, making it more appealing to children and teenagers.

*Intern under the supervision of Paola Primo