A chocolate archaeologist as a doll to awaken scientific vocations

A chocolate archaeologist is the protagonist of this year's science mona, an initiative by the University of Barcelona (UB) and the Barcelona Pastry Guild to disseminate research and awaken scientific vocations among young people.

In this third edition, the chocolate piece is once again a scientist, who this year is accompanied by two Ionic columns and a Roman amphora, with the aim of representing the Greek-Roman tradition present in Catalonia. The chocolate archaeologist stands on a chocolate base, also with prehistoric footprints of ancestors of Homo sapiens.

Next to the figure, the most distinctive element of the mona is included: a QR code that leads to informative content aimed at young people, prepared by members of the research teams of the Research Group on the Archaeology of Complexity and Social Evolution Processes (Gracpe) and the Seminar of Prehistoric Studies and Research (Serp) of the Faculty of Geography and History.

"We want to transmit to children the idea of discovery, of the passage of time, and for them to learn to value and better understand archaeological and cultural heritage," defended the two researchers who coordinated the scientific work of the outreach project, Xavier Mangado (Serp) and Rocío Da Riva (Grapce).

The chocolate archaeologist arrives after a geologist and a biologist starred in the first two editions of the initiative. In fact, now one can choose between the three science monas created so far, through pastry shops collaborating with the initiative.