For the first time, the Government of Navarra brings the work tools and original drawings of Santiago Ramón y Cajal to the Foral Community

The Minister of University, Innovation and Digital Transformation, Juan Cruz Cigudosa, has inaugurated this morning the exhibition “The look of Cajal / Cajalen begirada”, in Planetarium of Pamplona / Iruña, as part of the set of activities promoted to promote the figure and the legacy of the scientist and researcher of Navarre origin, during this year declared as “significant” by the Government of Navarra, on the 170th anniversary of his birth in Petilla de Aragón.

In addition to the minister, the manager of the public company Navarra Impulsa Cultura, Deporte y Ocio (NICDO), Ramón Urdiáin, and the director of the Museum of Navarra, Mercedes Jover, also took part in the inauguration. After it, a visit to the exhibition was made, guided by the manager of the Social Innovation Unit (UiS) of Navarra and curator of the exhibition, Juanjo Rubio.

Example of vocation and talent

“The figure of Santiago Ramón y Cajal represents a clear example of scientific vocation and talent, motivates research carried out with rigor and excellence and, in addition, champions the need to transfer knowledge. For all this, the dissemination of his legacy is almost an obligation that we have as Navarrese, ”said the councilor Cigudosa during his intervention.

In this sense, he added that precisely those values ​​of Ramón y Cajal are what the Department of University, Innovation and Digital Transformation works for day by day and, therefore, “his figure contributes to advancing towards a science that is much closer and accessible, promote scientific vocations, attract talent, bet on the training of our young researchers and investigators, consolidate the research career and spread scientific research”.

For his part, the manager of the public company NICDO, Ramón Urdiáin, which includes Planetarium, thanked the entire work team for making this multi-venue exhibition possible “whose presentation coincides with the start of the most important educational program in the Planetarium course, the School of Stars, which is turning 30 and will pay its own tribute to the famous scientist with a session entitled “El Cielo de Cajal”, on September 21″. In addition, Urdiáin has highlighted that until last August the place “has hosted three exhibitions visited by more than 7,300 schoolchildren. A figure that will surely be exceeded by far with this unique sample of the Cajal Legacy”.

For her part, the director of the Museum of Navarra, Mercedes Jover Hernando, added that “the Museum of Navarra is extremely happy to host a selection of drawings and original preparations by Santiago Ramón y Cajal, for what they mean as the cornerstone of the science of the study of knowledge of the brain, for what they have of beauty, with a value comparable to the drawings of artists that we keep in our collections”. And he added that “the transgressive art of the historical avant-gardes was inspired and drank from the sources of scientific advances that were produced in parallel, so without these images, without drawings like Cajal’s, the first abstract artists might They would have painted differently. She has also pointed out that “it is very consistent for a museum that has a photographic collection of some 80,000 pieces to show two photographic plates by Cajal, who knew how to see the importance of this new technology, both for science and for art”.

“The look of Cajal / Cajalen begirada”

This exhibition, promoted by the Government of Navarra, through the Department of University, Innovation and Digital Transformation, NICDO and the UiS and whose pieces have been donated by the Cajal Institute of the CSIC, includes several work tools used by Santiago Ramón y Cajal, considered the father of modern neuroscience, as well as different original drawings and photographs by the petillés scientist.

The exhibition, which is exhibited at the Pamplona Planetarium and at the Navarra Museum, can be visited for free until September 28. On the one hand, the Planetarium houses several scientific working instruments (microscope, telescope, stereoscopic camera…), plates and histological preparations, belonging to the Cajal Legacy.

This same space houses the exhibition “The Age of Glass”, prepared by the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), on the occasion of the International Year of Glass, declared by the UN. This sample, which is part of the exhibition project “La mirada de Cajal”, is made up of a series of informative panels that reflect the importance that this material has for the development of science and, therefore, for the work carried out by the scientist. Navarrese.

For its part, in the case of the Museum of Navarra, some photographs and scientific drawings made by the petillés researcher are exhibited, which, in a realistic manner and with great artistic quality, illustrated the research and discoveries that led him to obtain the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine in 1906.

The exhibition can be visited at the Planetarium Tuesday and Wednesday, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., and Thursday, Friday and Saturday, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and from 4:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.; while the part exhibited in the Museum of Navarra can be seen from Tuesday to Saturday, from 9:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. On Sundays and holidays the hours are from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Santiago Ramon y Cajal

Santiago Ramón y Cajal was born in 1852 in Petilla de Aragón. His intelligence, his tenacity and a genuine passion for life and for his country made him a benchmark of the time, beyond his worth as a scientist.

The Navarrese knew how to create a scientific ecosystem that is known as “the silver age” and that remains alive today. Cajal continues to be the most cited Spanish scientist in scientific journals, generator of new discoveries in the functioning of the brain and behavior more than a century after his work.

Artist as well as scientist, Cajal follows in the footsteps of geniuses such as Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo Galilei or Anna Atkins, who knew how to integrate both disciplines. The histological drawings of him cause admiration for the precision and beauty of him.

Precisely, the exhibition aims to bring citizens closer to his passion for drawing, optics –which he used to approach the smallest and most remote– and photography.

2022 declared a significant year to promote the figure of Santiago Ramón y Cajal

This exhibition is part of the set of activities promoted by the multidisciplinary working group on Santiago Ramón y Cajal, constituted by the Department of University, Innovation and Digital Transformation and whose objective is to promote the legacy of this brilliant Navarrese. The group, chaired by the Minister Cigudosa, is made up of professionals from different fields such as health, innovation, university, sociology, as well as various public administrations and local associations.

As a result of these meetings, some proposals have been raised and materialized, such as the celebration of this exhibition, summer courses, various talks focused on the figure of Cajal, as well as activities aimed at children and young people.

Other appointments with Cajal

On the other hand, along with the development of this exhibition, several conferences will also be held that revolve around the life and legacy of the Navarrese scientist, as well as the International Year of Glass.

Thus, after the opening of the exhibition, two talks were given by the director of the International Year of Glass, Alicia Durán; and the neuro-scientist from the Cajal Institute, Juan de Carlos.

Likewise, this Thursday, September 15, at 7:30 p.m., Mara Dierssen, scientific communicator, will give the conference “The artist’s brain” at the Museo de Navarra.

Lastly, on September 21, at 7:30 p.m., the Pamplona Planetarium will host a special session, called “El Cielo de Cajal”, given by the center’s director, Javier Armentia, together with the astrophysicist, Fernando Jáuregui.