Bars turn into science labs in Castro

The University of Cantabria said on May 21 that more than 500 people attended this year’s Pint of Science events in Santander, Torrelavega and Castro-Urdiales, where researchers traded lecture halls for bars and cafes. The three-day festival ran from May 18 to May 20 and brought 24 talks to six venues across the region, according to the university. In Cantabria, 26 researchers took part, split evenly between 13 women and 13 men, the university said. The local program was part of the wider Spanish edition of Pint of Science, which the organizers said was held simultaneously in 114 cities and towns. ### Which bars in Castro-Urdiales were turned into science venues? Castro-Urdiales hosted its seventh local edition of the festival in Pub La Noche, bar Pistones & Bielas and cafeteria Paréntesis, according to the University of Cantabria. Those three venues staged six talks during the May 18-20 program, the university said. The Castro-Urdiales city website listed one of the sessions at Pub La Noche on May 18 under the theme “Del Agua y la Vida.” The speakers were Konstantina Mitsi of the Spanish Institute of Oceanography, part of Spain’s CSIC research council, and Alberto Coz Fernández of the GER research group at the University of Cantabria, according to the municipal listing. (web.unican.es) ### How large was the Cantabria program? The University of Cantabria said the regional program covered more than 24 science outreach activities across Santander, Torrelavega and Castro-Urdiales. Santander accounted for 12 talks in Dr. Jekyll and La Solía, while Torrelavega hosted six in Pub El Anticuario and Castro-Urdiales hosted six more across its three venues, the university said. (castro-urdiales.net) More than 500 attendees took part across the three cities, according to the university’s post-event summary published on May 21. The institution said the aim was to bring scientific knowledge to people without specialized training and to present current research in a more informal setting. ### What subjects were people hearing about over a drink? (web.unican.es) The University of Cantabria said this year’s Cantabria program spanned themes including health, Earth sciences, astrophysics, technology and society. Topics mentioned in the university’s summaries included medicine, nuclear energy, sexual education, cyber-security, economics, history, nanomaterials, macroalgae and eclipses. (web.unican.es) In Castro-Urdiales, the university said the talks addressed subjects including archaeology, lasers, dyslexia, medicine, sustainability, history and health. The municipal listing for May 18 added marine science and circular economy to that local mix through the talks by Mitsi and Coz Fernández. ### Who was behind the talks? The University of Cantabria said researchers came from its own departments and from affiliated institutes including the Institute of Physics of Cantabria, the International Institute of Prehistoric Research of Cantabria, the Valdecilla Health Research Institute and the Institute of Biomedicine and Biotechnology of Cantabria. (web.unican.es) The university also named participants from the Spanish Institute of Oceanography in Santander, Tecnalia and the Jóvenes Nucleares association. Pint of Science Spain said the 2026 national edition would bring more than 1,300 researchers to bars on May 18, 19 and 20. The Spanish organizers said the festival is free and that this year’s program included more than 1,300 talks and events nationwide. ### Why did the organizers add music and the “Pintíficas” strand? The University of Cantabria said the Cantabria program mixed science talks with live music by university students, particularly in Torrelavega. (web.unican.es) The university also said the “Pintíficas” initiative was included to provide role models for girls interested in science and to highlight the work of women scientists in STEM fields. (pintofscience.es) The Spanish organizers said one of the 2026 edition’s main themes was encouraging scientific vocations from an early age. Their national press note said activities linked attendance to projects about women scientists in Spain, with the stated goal of increasing visibility for STEM role models and challenging gender stereotypes. The Pint of Science Spain website says the full program by locality is available online, and the festival’s global site lists the next edition under the #pint26 banner for May 18-20, 2026. (web.unican.es) In Cantabria, the University of Cantabria said the 2026 run has now concluded after events in Santander, Torrelavega and Castro-Urdiales. (pintofscience.es)