Maria-Antonieta García
Viaje al Universo 2015:
Learning, Fun, and Laughter!
The Gemini South flagship outreach program, Viaje al Universo
engaged and inspired thousands of students in late 2015.
Figure 1.
In early December,
Gemini hosted five
students and one
teacher from each of
the participating Viaje
schools as special guests
at the Gemini South
telescope facility on
Cerro Pachón.
“Sharing what I do with local students is so energizing,” says Gemini astronomer Erich Wenderoth as he reflects on time spent with students in classrooms in, and around, Gemini’s
host community, La Serena, Chile. Since 2006 Erich has participated in Gemini’s annual Viaje
al Universo (Viaje) program, sharing his passion for astronomy and science. “I look forward
to the day that a young astronomer approaches me and reminds me of a talk I gave to the
classroom,” Wenderoth says, following his visit to San Nicolás school during the latest Viaje
program in October.
Viaje al Universo is a week long program that brings astronomers, engineers, and science educators into local
Chilean classrooms in order to share the excitement of
scientific discovery with students and teachers. In addition to the classroom visits, a variety of other activities
bring science down to Earth, such as StarLab portable
planetarium shows, hands-on activities for the entire
familily (see Figure 3), and a popular panel discussion
that shares the job opportunities available at astronomical observatories.
Three members of Spain’s stand-up/interactive comedy troupe, “The Big Van: Scientists on Wheels” added
a healthy dose of humor to this year’s mix (Figure 2). “It
was an excellent week, and we discovered a lot of enthusiastic and creative people,” says troupe member
Irene Puerto, who, along with Alberto Vivó and Javier
20
GeminiFocus
January 2016