Educational / Science / Institutional Visits

ALMA hosts guided visits from Monday to Friday – excluding holidays- to groups from schools, universities, institutes, and related scientific organizations. These visits can be conducted in Spanish or English.

The visits -which will take about 3 hours- include a tour of the Operations Support Facility (OSF), the camp where ALMA personnel work, and where visitors can observe the control room, laboratories, and sometimes an antenna under maintenance and antenna transporter.

We can receive groups of up to 40 people (including students, professors, and/or parents/guardians). The minimum age of visitors must be 10 years. The visiting group must have its own means of transportation to the Observatory (OSF or the ALMA camp) located 35 km from San Pedro de Atacama.

Visitors will learn about observatory operations and staff work areas and watch an ALMA video. Educational group visits to the Chajnantor Plateau (Antenna Operation Site, AOS) are not authorized due to its high altitude (5,000 meters). Individual or institutional visits can visit the AOS upon request (add to Specific Requirements).

All visits must be coordinated at least one month in advance by providing all of the information required on the form below. Once a group receives authorization, the contact for the group will receive a confirmation email.

All authorizations depend on requirements and observatory capacity. Only requests received through the form and complying with the corresponding visit type will be processed.

Form

    Requester's Name (required)

    Name of Institution

    Type of Institution (University, School, etc)

    Address and City of Institution

    Requester's Job Title

    Requester's Email (required)

    Requester's phone

    Suggested Date of Visit (YYYY-MM-DD)

    Number of persons who would visit ALMA

    Schools: Grades of the Students

    Preferred Language

    Objective of the Visit

    Specific Requirements