This past 10 March, the Catalan Autonomous Governement (Generalitat) Minister of Culture and Communication, Joan Manuel Tresserras, along with the General Director of Cultural Heritage, Josep M. Carreté, and the Mayor of Terrassa, Pere Navarro, inaugurated a new permanent exhibition at the Science and Technology Museum of Catalonia: Gas and oil: Energy from fossils. Also in attendance was the director of mNACTEC, Eusebi Casanelles.

The principal aim of this exhibition is to explore the world of gas and oil from their formation up to their versatile end-uses. This goal of the exhibition is to inform, in plain language, on the origin, production and application of these fossil fuels.
The various uses of these fossil fuels will be analised, as will the great diversity of industries that depend on them. This requires in-depth knowledge of these precious materials in order to guarantee the rational management of these resources.
In this way, “Enérgeia” introduces themes such as sustainability, energy saving and efficient use of resources; an endeavour in keeping with the Museum's role in promoting environmental awareness through the remodelling of legacy spaces and adapting them to new contents.

Man has always had the need to calculate, and has developed numerous tools to facilitate it, in keeping with available scientific and technological advances. The world of computers took its first baby steps when Hollerith invented a machine to speed up the tabulation of Census data in the United States. In the 1960s we begin to find more and more applications for computers, up to the present day, where the computer chip abounds in almost every area of our lives.

The aim of the exhibition prepared by mNACTEC is to examine, through the subject of calculation, the link between science and technology, as well as to uncover the "computer enigma". This exhibition was made possible thanks to the excellent collection of devices brought together by the Museum, and the enthusiastic collaboration of numerous individuals and organisations that have disinterestedly donated historic machines, some of them rare.
The technology of calculation dates back to 5000 BC. In simple terms, we can say that this technology developed quite slowly until Hollerith arrived with his machine in 1890.
The main technological milestones that have increased calculation speed are: the relay (Joseph Henry, 1835), vacuum tubes (John A. Fleming, 1904), the transistor (Bardeen and Brattain) and integrated circuits (Jack Kilby and Robert Noyce, 1958).
During World War II, various countries involved in the conflict worked to resolve logic and military problems related to calculation: ENIGMA and Zuse in Germany , Colossus in England , ENIAC in the United States ...
Various forms of programming appeared (earliest examples were physically connected to machines, up to present-day programs written in a language similar to languages spoken by humans).
In the early days of programming, advances were made thanks to figures such as: Turing, Von Neuman, Aiken, Eckert and Mauchly, among others.
Later on, computer companies would take on the starring role.
The 1960s would see a confluence of circumstances that led to the introduction of computers in businesses. New companies would also be created: In Catalonia, Joan Majó founded Telesincro and Gabriel Ferrater was the innovating force behind Enclavamientos y Señales (Company specialising in traffic signals).
Information technology progressed through individual learning and training provided by businesses. The Escola d'Enginyers Industrials de Barcelona (Barcelona School of Industrial Engineering) offered courses in the subject under Ramon Companys, but it was not part of an official degree programme. The first official information technology studies appeared in 1976 at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona; the Faculty of Information Technology would finally be created in 1977 at UPC.
Telecommunications began to incorporate information technology between 1960 and 1970.
The development of the PC in the mid-1970s made computers accessible to all.
When internet's now famous world wide web (www) appeared in the 1990s, no one could foresee the importance that it would have in our lives. We're all interconnected: the only advance that remained was to increase the power of the microchip and to decrease its size; thereby allowing us to use it in a whole manner of devices. We can now truly claim that we are a network society.
Two elements are constant throughout the history of computers: innovation and the difficulty in predicting the future. The exhibition presents the future of computers, but in an open-ended and speculative way: we have no intention of falling into the same trap that so-called prophets of the field have. It is quite difficult to see where all this will eventually lead. The world of silica and microchips may be giving way to the world of carbon and nanotechnology.
Many young people believe that computers started with the PC. We want them to see that, thanks to individual genius throughout history, along with the various needs and contingencies of successive periods of history, that we can now speak of an information-based society. Can anyone imagine today's world without internet? But, as with all forms of technology, man must ensure they are controlled and put to good use. Technology gives us freedom, but uncontrolled freedom is a poor use of the individual

On 30 January, mNACTEC inaugurated the exhibition “Exploring the beginnings of the Universe”, in a ceremony that included the President of the museum's governing Council, Josep Maria Carreté, and some 100 attendees. The great expectation generated by the new exhibition prompted more than 300 people to visit the museum the following day. The aim of this educational exhibition is to make particle physics and the origin of the universe accessible to the general public, by examining the research experiments currently underway at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN).
Both CERN, which has been leading research in the field of constituents of matter and particle physics, and the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the largest and most powerful particle accelerator in the world, are the subjects of this exhibition at mNACTEC. The show includes authentic devices that were once part of the previous CERN accelerator: the LEP. The life-size reproduction of the current underground tunnel, the LHC, constitutes the exhibition's main element.

The Foxboro 1 system was built during the 1970s and was mainly used by energy industries; this particular machine was originally used by Repsol.
The restoration of old computers is a none-too common task which requires an interdisciplinary team made up of IT technicians, documentation specialists and restoration experts.
The Foxboro 1 came to the department dismantled, but was still in good condition.
Work centred on documenting the computer, grouping and assembling the elements which it contained, and thorough cleaning—the first phase of which being mechanical, to eliminate surface dust and a second, chemical cleaning phase involving pH-neutral solutions.
This project is part of the conservation and restoration programme for the collection to be displayed on the occasion of the mNACTEC exhibition, “The computer enigma”.

The “La Rajoleta” Ceramic Museum of Esplugues de Llobregat has officially joined the mNACTEC (National Museum of Science and Technology of Catalonia) Regional System after signing the associated adhesion agreement. This inclusion represents recognition of the heritage potential of its old industrial ovens and the significance of the old Pujol i Bausis Factory, popularly known as “La Rajoleta”, in the industrial history of the region, especially during the Modernist period.

The Escola Universitària de Turisme I Oci (University School of Tourism and Leisure) at the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV) organised a blended distance/classroom course called “Industrial Landscapes”, running from 12 November to 9 December 2008. This course was directed to technicians and managers of the Catalonian Tourism offices and local organisations with a view to foster tourism by providing them with information and education on industrial landscapes in Catalonia. Collaborative support was provided by the General Directorate of Tourism.
The course consisted of 25 hours through distance learning in addition to two classroom hours at the university. 18 professionals from the tourism sector participated in the course which was headed by Josep Oliveras, lecturer and professor of Geography at the URV.
The course structure was distributed into four units, each lasting a week: “Basic Notions and Concepts”, “Old Industry Landscapes”, “Mining and Textile Landscapes” and “Steel, Metallurgy, Chemical and Electrical Power Industry Landscapes”.

As part of the Revitalisation Plan for Industrial Tourism Products and Catalonian Technological Innovation, the town of Castellar de n'Hug has created a new system of signage for outdoor routes surrounding the Museu del Ciment Asland factory as well as for its interior halls.
This signage comprises informative pole signs and horizontal boards. Made from Corten steel, featuring an appropriate, elegant and practical design, the signage provides visitors with information on what they are seeing, as well as archive images of the spaces.
All information is given in four languages: Catalan, Spanish, English and French, making this space and its new routes an appealing and language-accessible touristic activity.

The Museums of Esplugues, after examining their visitor statistics, saw that individual visitor attendance dropped during afternoon and weekend hours. This prompted a look into new strategies that could revitalise these time slots and capture new visitors in the form of families; who until that point had primarily visited the museum during specific holidays such as Sant Jordi and Christmas.
After receiving petitions from parents who, tired of the conventional child party centres, showed interest in the museum space as a site for their children's birthday parties, the museum decided to create an activity specifically for boys and girls aged between 3 and 6.
The activity consists of a dramatised tale called “En Fanguet fa trencadissa” (Clay becomes brittle), followed by a craft activity where children paint their very own tile to take home. During the activity, accompanying adults can visit the museum for free. The museum is thus seen as a recreational space, where one can learn through play. Of positive value is that young visitors see the museum both as an open space to visit with their class and to learn about various topics during the week, and a place to visit with their families at weekends to enjoy themselves.
Information and reservations: 93 470 02 18