The Centro Ciência Viva do Algarve (CCVAlg) is an interactive science museum located in Faro, the capital of the Algarve, to the public in 1997. Its mission is to promote education for scientific knowledge, developing actions to stimulate interest in science and technology by the general public.

The Center privilege the articulation with the schools and with the local scientific community. The CCVAlg delivers educational activities and interactive exhibits making the visit a rewarding experience for both children and adults.

The permanent exhibition is divided into two main rooms and themes: “Know +, Eat well, Walk better” and “From Ria to the Street”. In the first room, Physics, Geology, Food, Meteorology, Volcanism, are some of the scientific areas that you can get to know better when visiting this exhibition linking humans and the environment thorough the energy involved for maintaining both in movement. Here you can experience the feeling of an earthquake, see a tornado live, find out how much you weight on other planets, and find out how many calories are in a pizza among other things. The second room focuses on the Ria Formosa ecosystem where the science center is located. In addition to including several interactive support modules on the theme of Ria Formosa and coastal ecosystems, this exhibition focuses on the “touchpool” where visitors, with the support of trained monitors, can interact with animals that are usually found in the intertidal zone of the Ria Formosa, and discover and understand the specificities associated with their life cycle and the way they relate to the environment. There is also an aquarium representative of the subtidal environment of Ria Formosa lagoon system, which is mainly showing seahorses from this very sensitive environment. These aquariums provide the visitor with the opportunity to discover the differences and similarities between the ecosystems that form the lagoon system of Ria Formosa.

Finally, the visitors will have the opportunity of appreciate the Ria Formosa from our terrace, where they will find several modules associated to the sun. The Algarve Ciência Viva Centre terrace is a privileged spot for bird watching, since Ria Formosa is an important stopover area for countless birds making their way to or from Africa.