Sport today is a combination of science, dexterity, dedication and strength. It this exhibition, you could test your skills and try out a range of sports: the Surf simulator, Basketball, the beginning of the 100m sprint, climbing, virtual Volleyball, partner-less Tennis and Football penalty kick. A series of small Exhibits allows you to measure individual skills, including angle of vision, high jump and flexibility.

This exhibit was designed by the Science Museum of London.

Science and the Sportsperson was a Portuguese presentation on the theme of Doping, organised by the Secretary of State for Sport, and a display of works, on multimedia, by the Faculty of Human Motivity. These last three interactive exhibits allow you to try out your strength, hear the force of your muscles and test your reaction time.

The guidebook to the "Science of Sport" exhibition from the Science Museum of London, which was on show at the Pavilion of Knowledge - Ciência Viva until March 2000. This guidebook will show you how scientific knowledge has led to greater understanding and improved results at all levels of sport today.

This 56 page guidebook, with 71 extraordinarily beautiful pictures, is on sale at the Pavilion of Knowledge - Ciência Viva bookshop for €2.49.

The exhibition "Science of Sport" was on show from 25-07-1999 to 31-03-2000.

* To open .pdf documents you need to install Acrobat Reader.

In Magdeburg in 1652, Otto von Guericke carried out an experiment that proved the existence of the vacuum for the first time.
He placed two copper semi-spheres together to make a sphere 35 cm in diameter. He then removed all the air from the sphere and tied eight horses to each half. When the horses pulled, all their strength was not enough to separate the two semi-spheres.

He had proved the existence of nothing: the vacuum.

Guericke went even further. He proved that Nothing exists, which although a contradiction is nonetheless true. He paved the way for a new perspective on Earth and the Universe, as well as on Science and Technology.

The vacuum technique is essential today in many different manufacturing processes. Without the vacuum, there would be no TV screens, computers, X-rays or light bulbs.

The exhibition "The Vacuum", designed by the Deutsches Museum, was on show from 25-07-1999 to 31-12-1999.