ArmorScience is a French organisation whose main objectives are to share scientific and industrial knowledge with the people of Britanny. Their aim is to bring a level of transparency and clarity about key scientific issues, such as the threats to coral reefs around the world.
For 2018’s Science Fest in Britanny, ArmorScience has brought coral reefs to the centre of the scene by organising a series of conferences, workshops and exhibitions. They will all take place in the Radôme Parc, a hub for scientific research and popularisation in Britanny, France.
These actions are as follows :
- France’s Institute on Research and Development (IRD) have lent their exposition “Journey to the heart of Coral Reefs”, already featured in IYOR 2018’s website. It will be open to the public for the weekend. While celebrating the beauty of the coral reefs with wonderful photos, the exhibition highlights their essential place in the marine environment and for the development of the populations that depend on them.
- Discovering Plankton is a workshop that will be held over the weekend and will offer the audience the opportunity to discover the importance of plankton for the stability of coral reefs and marine ecosystems. Microscopes will be made available so that the public can discover their main features.
- A conference by Marcel Koken from France’s National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) on bioluminescence will take place on Saturday the 6th at 18:00, under the dome of Britanny’s Planetarium. It will explore the wonders of coral chemistry as well as it’s implications for human purposes (pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and industry).
- A conference on the threats posed by climate change to coral reefs will be held on Sunday the 7th at 16:00 at the Phoenix Pole, by Michel Hignette, coordinator of ArmorScience. Both of these conferences will be illustrated with short films produced by the IRD.