Play ROBLOX and become a FISABIO researcher

The Foundation for the Promotion of Health and Biomedical Research of the Valencian Region (FISABIO) is opening the doors of its public health research center to the virtual universe of Roblox, one of the most widely used multiplayer platforms among children and teenagers.

In order to bring the youngest boys and girls closer to science in a didactic and fun way, the game recreates the FISABIO building and invites you to explore its facilities, learn about the activities carried out in its laboratories and even perform a PCR. You can also move through chains of DNA and observe the process from inside the test tube as if you were the size of a polymerase.

The activity will take place Friday, November 27 at 6:30 pm in collaboration with YouTuber KraoEsp, who has more than a million and a half subscribers. During a live event, KraoEsp will explore the FISABIO labs accompanied by his subscribers and anyone who wants to join. Finally, they’ll enter the PCR room in the game, where each player will become a scientist for a few minutes and play and learn the laboratory technique used to amplify DNA sequences.

Game development and FISABIO building design were made possible thanks to coordination by the heads of FISABIO’s Sequencing and Bioinformatics Service, Llúcia Martínez Priego and Giuseppe D’Auria. The development team was made up of Daniel D’Auria, in charge of building design; Daniel Martínez, in charge of programming and development (harton.info); and Renzo Caviglia, in charge of modeling and illustration. FISABIO’s communications department—Mila Martínez, Julia Belda and Sergio Arnau—rounds out the team behind this initiative.