Unprecedented ALMA – GAM partnership for astronomy outreach
11 November, 2013 / Read time: 2 minutes
A partnership of ALMA Observatory and the Gabriela Mistral Center (GAM) presents a series of astronomy outreach activities through education and the arts in November.
Pierre Cox, ALMA Director, and Alejandra Wood, GAM Director, signed an agreement to jointly support the activities for both students and the general public. All activities are free and are aimed at increasing knowledge of astronomy in Chile. "Most of the observations of the Universe are being carried out from Chile, so it is very important that Chileans have a better understanding of astronomy," said Cox. "That is exactly what we are doing with GAM: bringing astronomy closer to the public."
Among the activities featured are radio astronomy workshops for teachers, student workshops in assembling paper replicas of the ALMA antennas, a series of fora on intriguing topics ("Are we alone?", "The convergence of art, astronomy, technology and society," "Indigenous cosmovisions," etc.), as well as the launch of a magazine and a play, both on astronomy. For more information (in Spanish) about these activities please visit https://www.gam.cl.
"It’s all about creating a new way to explore the link between science and culture," said Alejandra Wood. According to Wood, the ALMA-GAM agreement is the first of its type and will be continued in 2014.
Contact:
Valeria Foncea
Education and Public Outreach Officer
Joint ALMA Observatory
Santiago, Chile
Tel: +56 2 2467 6258
E-mail: [email protected]