DISSEMINATION OF PALEONTOLOGICAL HERITAGE THROUGH THE USE OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES: THE EXAMPLE OF THE SOMOSAGUAS SITE (MADRID, SPAIN)

Many studies have demonstrated Spanish students have an alarmingly scarce geological and paleontological knowledge. Furthermore, this knowledge deficit extends throughout our whole society, with many authors blaming it on the insufficient scientific diffusion and activities about these subjects. In the last few years, this situation has improved, although still at a slow and uneven pace between different Spanish regions.

The Somosaguas Paleontology Project (Complutense University of Madrid) carries out several different activities around the Somosaguas paleontological sites (Pozuelo de Alarcón, Madrid, Spain).

This Project is divided into four main branches:
(1) scientific research,
(2) training young researchers,
(3) preparation of materials and didactic tools to carry out scientific outreach to school students,
(4) scientific dissemination for the general public and especially for people with functional diversity.

The site and the project have become a benchmark in paleontological outreach. Since 2000, Somosaguas hosts open-doors days, organized visits, workshops and a great variety of activities for schools throughout the year. During this period, more than 300 college students, more than 1000 school students, hundreds of participants in the open-doors days and more than 100 people with functional diversity have been able to engage in the activities previously mentioned.

Most importantly, year after year, it becomes clear that society does indeed have a great interest in science, and it only takes a bit of effort from us scientists to dedicate some of our time to adapt our knowledge to be transmitted in an easy way to novice people. Scientific outreach, especially to young audiences and those people with functional diversity, requires an intense training and adaptation of the contents and teaching methods. In order to be able to better adapt the contents being explained to these audience Somosaguas project team members actively collaborate with pedagogues, educators and social workers, as well as with experts in other scientific fields. Alongside this personal effort from the scientists, authorities and institutions should also help by providing the projects with monetary aid in order to acquire materials and didactic tools which would facilitate scientific outreach.

Nowadays, new technologies offer a wide variety of tools that are of great use for scientific diffusion. These new technologies are particularly useful since they are very appealing to young audiences, bringing them closer and in contact with science in an easy, funny and intuitive way for them. Somosaguas site hosts a fifteen-meter by three-meter wall painting representing a natural landscape with the fauna and flora inhabiting Madrid 14 million years ago. Through Augmented Reality (AR) and using the app Layar, the wall painting is now equipped with digital content, which with the use of any mobile device helps to expand the information about each and every one of the Miocene species identified at these paleontological site.

Preliminary results show this new tool has an incredibly positive influence over the visitors, who show great interest and a better comprehension of the different contents explained during the activities that have been carried out.