At some time everyone has thought they heard their cell phone ringing and then found out that it was not. We know so little about our brains: why do we feel afraid? How does alcohol act on our senses? Shall we be able to control machines with thought alone in the future?

The Illusions of the Brain fair tried to answer these and other questions. It allowed visitors to find out through simple and amusing scientific experiments (including encephalograms and tests with helmets, electrodes and virtual reality programmes) how easy it is to deceive our brain. The fair was held on Sunday 16 May at the Museu de la Ciència i de la Tècnica de Catalunya (Science and Technology Museum of Catalonia) throughout the morning and was coordinated by the renowned neuroscientist Mara Dierssen –Catalan Government (Generalitat de Catalunya) National Scientific Culture Award– and her team.

One of the experiments was the Virtual Olympiad, where brain activity was used to move an ‘avatar’ on the screen; another was the so-called Rubber Arm Illusion, related to prostheses. There were also experiments with sound illusions, with the effects of alcohol and the sensations people have with the illness known as “panic attack”.

This year, for the first time, the Museu de la Ciència i de la Tècnica de Catalunya (mNACTEC) (Science and Technology Museum of Catalonia) took part in the Research in Action event at the Education Fair, held at the Barcelona Trade Fair Precinct from 17 to 21 March. Research centres and universities from all over Catalonia showed students the importance of innovation in the world of the new technologies.

As a project, the mNACTEC presented part of the travelling exhibition Connect with Innovation, which was on at the museum from 24 November 2009 until March this year. The outstanding event was a presentation, with a graphic installation that showed virtual environments and characters with great realism. Visitors could see the models used for the creation of those characters, as well as the formation of shadows or techniques of expression and movement.

As well as that workshop, the Museu de la Ciència i de la Tècnica de Catalunya wanted to have a representation of all the objects that are part of the exhibition. And so on the first day the stand received a visit from the engineer and lecturer at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia Pedro Monagas, who explained to the visitors the functioning of the Why Cry, a receiver he had made himself which analyses the crying of babies in order to identify the cause and deal with it with greater precision.
Another of the highlights of the participation of the museum in the Barcelona Trade Fair was the live demonstration of ROINBOT, an interactive mobile robot created by the m-BOT Solutions SL company. It is designed to assist visitors at trade fairs and congresses through interactive information points. This automaton has an innovatory aspect: by means of a ROINBOT sensor it detects people and heads towards them. It keeps still until the visitor presses a section of the information on its screen. If the informant does not respond to the request of the automaton, it decides to look for another person who might be interested.

The activities at the Montjuïc Trade Fair precinct lasted five days. During that time students from secondary schools, teachers, parents, university students and graduates visited the stand and discovered the spirit of technological innovation and the support for training guaranteed by the Museu de la Ciència i de la Tècnica de Catalunya.

The mNACTEC also attended the Expodidactic 2010 Fair, held on the second floor of the Barcelona Trade Fair Precinct.  Here there was a smaller audience. The aim was to show teachers the latest technological, educational and didactic innovations which they can use to improve their teaching at education centres.
The Museu Industrial del Ter (Ter Industrial Museum) was one of the other museums of the Territorial System that took part, for the second time, with the presentation of twelve workshops and four excursions to discover and interpret the River Ter in all its dimensions: as an energy motor and an ecosystem which we must learn to treat with sustainability criteria.

Since 29 January this year, the ribbon makers of 1900 come back to life at the Museu de la Tècnica de Manresa. Two ribbon makers, Laura and Pere, are the central figures of this new dramatised visit to the Manresa museum. These two workers introduce us to the history of ribbon-making in Manresa: the origins, from silk and ornamental trimming; the creation of small jewels that gave way to a strong, powerful industry; and the adaptation of the industry and the cotton looms. All that in just 50 minutes. 

After the visits, the participants can enjoy a factory dinner, a meal served in pannikins that transports them to a workers’ canteen of the early 20th century. The atmosphere is a factory in 1900 (props, music...) and the dinner consists of the most exquisite dishes of popular Catalan cooking of the time. Outstanding items on the menu include the most traditional local produce such as the white butter beans or the home-made sausages. The Mirador de Montserrat is in charge of preparing the food.

This activity is held on 15 May and 18 June, from eight o’clock in the evening.

On 15 and 16 May 2010, there was an experimental baking in a new oven built in 2009 with the support of Barcelona Provincial Council. It is intended to be a reproduction of the one used in the Pujol i Bausis factory. The passion for this type of production was renewed in the 19th century by architects such as Antoni Gaudí or Lluís Domenech i Montaner, who turned “La Rajoleta” into a leading producer of pieces of this kind.

It was a weekend packed with activities: open days, free guided tours, night-time activities... and ended with the opening of the oven after a night of baking, Sunday 16th, the day of the XXX Meeting of Collectors of Antique Ceramics.

Last April, at the Museu de la Tècnica de Manresa, there was an encounter of people connected with the textile industry to share experiences of a life that has marked many workers from Manresa and central Catalonia. Those workshops are part of the project for recovery of the historical memory around the textile factories that have shaped the planning and the character of the city. 

The Museu del Ciment Asland de Castellar de n’Hug has refurbished its interior for a twofold purpose: to improve security at some points of the old factory and to have more spaces open to the public. Moreover, the works include the reconstruction of the old uralite roof of the temporary exhibition space, which has provided more room for the museum interpretation centre. Those changes have been on view since Easter. 

The Museu de les Mines de Cercs (Cercs Mines Museum), in the Sant Corneli mining estate and today one of the best conserved mining centres in Catalonia or Spain, is now officially part of the Museu de la Ciència i de la Tècnica de Catalunya (Science and Technology Museum of Catalonia)Territorial System. Its incorporation was published in the Diari Oficial de la Generalitat de Catalunya (Catalan Government Official Gazette ) on 10 March, along with the Museu Industrial del Ter (MIT) (Ter Industrial Museum) and the Ecomuseu-Farinera de Castelló d’Empúries (Castelló d’Empúries Ecomuseum-Flour Mill). This last one consists of the machinery of the late 19th century flour mill and El Rec del Molí, an irrigation channel dating back to the Middle Ages.

In March, the Catalan Museologists Association awarded the Museology Prizes, which recognised the Museu Industrial del Ter in the Projects, Exhibitions and Experiments and Activities modality; the historian Frederic-Pau Verrié i Faget; the founder and director of the Joan Miró Foundation, Francesc Vicens i Giralt; the Món Sant Benet project; and, lastly, the Ecomuseu de les Valls d’Àneu (Valls d’Àneu Ecomuseum), which was the winner of the Special Prize that recognises an outstanding institution of museology and the museums of Catalonia.

On 16 April, the Palafrugell Local Governing Body initially approved the executive project for the renovation of Cal Ganxo (PHASE VI), part of the new headquarters of the Museu del Suro de Palafrugell. The building is expected to house the offices of the new museum, a document centre on the world of cork, a library and a wine cellar. The project has a budget of 1,263,174,80 euros.