BIOVAL has transformed scientific outreach into an interactive adventure with its educational gymkhana, “El Secreto de las Profundidades”. Designed to engage young audiences and the wider public, the activity invites participants to discover how microalgae can help capture CO₂ and turn it into valuable sustainable products.

Through five hands-on stations, visitors follow the journey of Val, a microalga that becomes the guide to a world of circular bioeconomy, clean technologies and climate action. The experience combines simple experiments, observation activities, creative challenges and an Explorer’s Diary, allowing participants to collect stamps as they complete each stage of the route.

The first station introduces CO₂ capture through a colourful experiment using red-cabbage indicator water. Participants can observe how exhaled CO₂ changes the water’s acidity and colour, creating an accessible introduction to the science behind carbon capture.

At the microalgae laboratory station, visitors explore the role of these microscopic organisms in photosynthesis and biomass production. Samples, magnifying tools and photobioreactor displays help explain how microalgae use light and CO₂ to grow and produce useful compounds.

The gymkhana also highlights the natural pigments produced by microalgae, including chlorophyll, beta-carotene and phycocyanin. In the pigment station, participants discover the colours hidden within these organisms and learn about their potential applications in sustainable products.

Another challenge focuses on algal oil and its potential conversion into hydrotreated vegetable oil, or HVO, a renewable fuel that can support lower-carbon transport solutions. The final station brings the full BIOVAL story together, showing how circular biorefineries can turn carbon emissions and biological resources into clean fuels, pigments and other high-value materials.

By combining play, participation and scientific learning, the BIOVAL gymkhana makes complex research more accessible while encouraging visitors to reflect on the role of biotechnology in building a more sustainable future.