The Eureka Program of Ciencia & Vida was created in 2005 to disseminate science and to contribute to science education, through media networks and on-location work with the educational community and the general public. With a multimedia focus, our creations include school workshops, video games, animations, television series, and books, which are available on TV channels and digital platforms, as well as on our YouTube channel and those of our collaborators and co-producers. With more than 500 productions in its catalogue, the Eureka Program is a relevant contribution to science education, at the school level as well as for the general public. Its productions have received national and international awards.
Eureka promotes a policy of collaboration with other Centers of Excellence and with audiovisual companies. Today, our programs include the participation of the Millennium Institute of Oceanography, the companies IMAGO Productions, GVG Productions, and Digital Education, creating a pioneering initiative in Chile and Latin America.
In times of pandemic, Eureka has been a relevant actor, contributing with original, high-quality content for the educational community in Chile, via digital platforms like EducarChile and public television channel NTV , broadcasted throughout the country.
Since its inception, Eureka has been a nucleus of formation for young professionals, offering continuous training to scientists, journalists, and audiovisual professionals. Many of them performing today in the area of scientific dissemination.
The catalogues presented in this section, contains a detailed list of Eureka productions corresponding to all the categories described below. In addition, a listing of first prizes won by different productions is included in section and a complete list of all awards is included.
Catalogues:
Primetime and Tv Series
Series and Animations
Videogames and Multimedia
Primetime TV Series
The Eureka Program has produced high-impact television series for the public at large, which have contributed to the dissemination of science in Chile and abroad. These inspiring stories have become educational material and cultural heritage for Chileans. Our productions have been broadcasted in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Europe, and the U.S. through numerous channels and platforms. They also have received international awards in Brazil, Spain, Italy, and other countries, such as “Brilliant Mind” First Prize, trajectory category, Mostra International Scientific Audiovisual, Brazil, 2016. Worth highlighting is the series “Explorers, from the Atom to the Cosmos”, with 285 reports on science carried out at Centers of Excellence in Chile, seen by millions of television viewers and which today, thanks to an alliance with Fundación Chile, is used as educational material in schools throughout the country.
Brilliant Minds
Explorers, from the Atom to the Cosmos
Documentaries
Another way to reach large audiences in order to disseminate science is through documentaries. We have recently co-produced “Atacamex: Exploring the Unknown”, along with the Millennium Institute of Oceanography (IMO). The documentary narrates the unique feat of a group of Chilean scientists in reaching the deepest point of the Atacama Trench (more than 8,000 meters) for the first time in the history of scientific exploration in the world. Atacamex won the award for the Best Documentary at UNOFEX in Monaco and most recently the Best Long Feature Film award in the 1st Actrum International Film Festival, Madrid, Spain, 2021, and it has been selected for official competition in many film festivals around the world.
Atacamex, Exploring the Unknown
Series and Animations
An area of special attention is children’s and youth productions. We create series based on scientific content that allow children and young audiences to learn while having fun, awakening their curiosity and interest for science and the world around them.
To date, we have produced more than 12 original television series and innovated in both format and in their development process. We have consolidated a model for collaborative, interdisciplinary, public-private co-production, which allows us to create high-impact series that are broadcasted on children’s public television networks in Chile, Argentina, Peru, and Colombia. As shown below, many of these series have won international and national awards.
The following are examples of these series:
Experimenta ciencia de niñ@s 2018 -2020
Los Fantásticos Viajes de Ruka 2017-2020
Lyn & Babas 2017-2020
Bichitos 2020 – 2024
Videogames
The Eureka Program has produced video games and interactive educational tools for scientific content with the objective of improving education at school, especially in vulnerable areas. These productions have won national and international awards. One example of our productions in this area is the videogame Xentinelas Xelulares, dedicated explain the immunology system in a kid-friendly and interactive mode which won the Best Videogame award, Festival ComKids Prix Jeunesse Iberoamericano, Sao Paulo, Brazil 2013.
School Workshops and Talks
In collaboration with the Millennium Institute of Oceanography (IMO), we have developed school workshops. The activity, known as the “Traveling Scientific Audiovisual Exhibit” (MACI, in Spanish) has the goal of creating an educational intervention with content linked to marine biology for an entire school day. This initiative has been recognized and very much appreciated by professors and students. To date, we have imparted more than 150 workshops throughout Chile, impacting thousands of students and hundreds of educators.
Best of Category and First Prize Awards
Following is a list of best in their category or first prize awards that have been won by Ciencia & Vida / Eureka Program productions in diverse festivals in Chile and abroad. A complete list of awards is available in
- Atacamex: Exploring the Unknown, Best Long Feature Film, 1st Actrum International Film Festival, Madrid, Spain, 2021.
- Experimenta, Science for Kids, Best Series, family educational entertainment (family edutainment) category , Science Film Festival, Germany, 2020.
- Atacamex: Exploring the Unknown, Best Documentary, 10th Unofex International Film Festival, Monaco, 2020.
- Lyn y Babas, Best TV Series, professional category, 8th Ojo de Pescado International Film Festival, Chile, 2019.
- Ruka’s Fantastic Travels. Best TV Content, III International Festival Zinetxiki Zinemaldia, Spain 2018.
- Experimenta, Science for Kids. Best Children’s Documentary Award, at the XXVII International Film Festival for Children and Young People, Divercine, Uruguay, 2018.
- Lyn y Babas, First Place Best TV Program, preschool category, Fan Chile, Chile, 2017
- The Strength of the Sea, Special Prize of the Jury, 9TH International Science Film Festival of Athens, Greece, 2016
- Brilliant Minds, First Prize, trajectory category, Mostra International Scientific Audiovisual, Brazil, 2016.
- OUCH!! Best Interactive, ComKids Prix Jeunesse Iberoamericano Festival, Sao Paulo, Brazil 2015
- Xellular Xentinels. Best Videogame, Festival ComKids Prix Jeunesse Iberoamericano, Sao Paulo, Brazil 2013
- Xellular Xentinels, Best Video Games, QuéVeo 2013. Chile, 2013
- Xellular Xentinels, Best Interactive, XVIII Version Videomed Medical Film Festival Badajoz, Spain 2012
- Darwin’s Journey Grand Prize Award XXVI Biennial of Scientific Film, Spain, 2010
- The Cell Patrol, Best Multimedia Award, 6th Videomed Festival, Argentina, 2007
Science on Wheels: Bus ConCiencia
Five years ago, Ciencia & Vida in collaboration with Ecoscience created Bus ConCiencia, a mobile science education laboratory that promotes STEM education and inquiry-based learning in vulnerable schools located in mostly rural areas. In 2019 together with Ecoscience, the Giant Magellan Telescope Organization and The Kavli Foundation, we built Bus ConCiencia Astronomía, becoming the most advanced mobile laboratory and equipment for astronomical education in Chile.
School Workshops
In collaboration with the Millennium Institute of Oceanography (IMO) and other centers and institutions, we have organized several school workshops throughout Chile. The activity, known as Muestra Audiovisual Científica Itinerante, aims to immerse the school in science for a day, using an innovative three-stage methodology (motivation, experience and meaning), specific to each learning level. This initiative has reached nearly 100 schools in the Metropolitan Region, Biobío, Magallanes, Antofagasta and Valparaíso, benefiting thousands of students and hundreds of educators.
Video Games
Video game production is other of our strategies to give children, students and educators a first-hand look at science in the classroom. We focus on hard-to-learn content like the immune system with Xentinelas Xelulares, and human anatomy and physiology with OUCH!. Following the success and breadth of our TV series La Receta Científca de Tony Tonina and Las Fantásticas Aventuras de Ruka, we turned these storylines into video games to facilitate learning and comprehension in natural sciences. Our video games are widely used in Chile and other Latin American countries, and are available free on our platforms www.xentinelas.cl; www.ouchgame.cl and on other sites such as www.tvn.cl and www.misenal.tv
TV for Kids
We are currently working on new seasons for La Receta Científca de Tony Tonina (www.tonytonina.cl; co-produced by the IMO) and Las Fantásticas Aventuras de Ruka (co-produced by Chilean National Television and Mi Señal, Colombia’s public TV channel for children). We have also produced Lyn & Babas with the Children’s Television Department of the National Television Council and Experimenta: Ciencia de Niñ@s, a new documentary series in which a group of children guides viewers in the lab, sparking questions and curiosity.
These and our older animated series such as Ursi and Magnogeek: Exploradores de Otro Mundo, Las Aventuras de Ruka y los Tesoros del Mar and Las Aventuras de Ruka y los Tesoros Bajo Tierra are watched by millions of spectators in Chile, Colombia and Peru on channels dedicated exclusively to children, in which our programs are among their favorites.
TV for Large Audiences
We have produced internationally awarded and distributed series such as La Travesía de Darwin, which narrates Charles Darwin’s adventures in Chile and how they influenced his ideas and theories, and Mentes Brillantes, which introduces us to National Science Award winners and the paths that led them to this distinction.
Our most recent creation, Exploradores: del Átomo al Cosmos, invites audiences to learn about the scientific research that is carried out today in Chilean centers of excellence in a diversity of fields. The series has already produced seven seasons and reached more than 15 million spectators, becoming the most watched science-themed production in Chile.