No abstract

It is well known that the number of women in scientific careers is significantly lower than the number of men, especially in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) areas. Considering that science should be used for the benefit of all, by excluding women from the production process of scientific knowledge, we are giving up of 50% of the intellectual capacity to different science fields. Thus, the Museum of Astronomy and Related Sciences, whose mission is to expand society's access to scientific knowledge, promotes the project "Girls in the Museum", aimed at the continuous education of seven high-school female students in topics of astronomy with the goal of stimulating them into liking science. Concurrently with the project, interviews were conducted to evaluate the initiative according to the participants' perspectives, as well as to understand their perceptions about science prior and after six months of the project. We found that the participants were satisfied with the format and content of the project, comprised of theoretical talks and practical workshops. The resulting discourses show that they now view science as something closer to their lives and are more confident to promote scientific discussions. These results show the importance of providing young females with role models they can look up, especially at the age when they are about to make decisions concerning their future career.

Registro fotográfico que compõe o projeto Astroludens. Inspirado na reconhecida tese “Homo Ludens” de Johan Huizinga (1983), a qual defende que todo ser humano é sobretudo lúdico, esse projeto tem o compromisso de dialogar com a produção de conhecimento de crianças de 0 a 6 anos que transitam pelo Museu de Astronomia e Ciências Afins (MAST), um público cada vez mais presente e cativo. Para isso, é necessária a criação de novas metodologias científicas que entrelaçam produção teórica e prática, propondo inovações materiais e intelectuais. O projeto acontece criando liames de interrelação não só de conceitos da cultura infantil e museal, mas da própria cultura digital. Neste pequeno e pretenciosamente provocador ensaio de uma única fotografia e pouco texto, intenciona-se tensionar algumas certezas já endurecidas até os dias de hoje. E enaltecer a evidente produção de conhecimento infantil.

This work is the report of an astronomy non-formal education expedition carried out by the GalileoMobile initiative in the Paiter Suruí indigenous communities, in the Brazilian Amazon, that took place in November 2016. This ethnic group remained “officially uncontacted” by non-natives until the late 1960's, when the population dropped significantly and they faced deep changes in their way of living and traditions. Nowadays, the Paiter Suruí are seeking ways to maintain their cultural identity and land. Thus, differently from previous GalileoMobile itinerant projects, which had the goal of bringing modern astronomy closer to youngsters of regions with scarce access to science outreach actions, this particular expedition had the goal of establishing an exchange of knowledge related to astronomy, promoting a dialogue with the members of this group to understand and record their relationship with the sky. The ground team, comprised of three astronomers, one filmmaker and one anthropologist, undertook the study of various academic works on ethno and cultural astronomy, as well as specific texts on science education in traditional communities and ethnography of Brazilian indigenous peoples. During the expedition, interviews with the Paiter Suruí elders were held, having as a starting point astronomy outreach activities such as the sky observation with telescopes. We were able to collect three myths related to the Sun, Moon and rainbow. The result of activities, interviews and transcripts were recorded in a series of videos that will be returned to the community, so that they can be used in schools and community centres as educational material for the preservation of the Paiter Suruí culture, as well as a resource for a detailed ethnographic study of their astronomy.

The Night-Sky Observation Program (POC, acronym in Portuguese for Programa de Observação do Céu) is the most traditional education activity run by the Museum of Astronomy and Related Sciences (MAST). It takes place twice a week and has an annual participation of 2,400 people. It starts with a brief talk and is followed by the observation with MAST's telescopes (one of them being over a century old and other modern amateur models). The present work is the first research conducted aimed at POC's evaluation according to the participants’ perspectives in its 33 years of existence. The data were collected using two instruments: a questionnaire, distributed to the participants prior to the activity, and an interview, conducted after the observations. We analysed the data using the Discourse of Collective Subject methodology, which allowed us to understand thoughts and values of the participants on a given topic. We find that the participants have the habit of gazing at the sky, even if for contemplation purposes only, and that the talk makes the public feel more prepared to observe the sky. It was frequently mentioned, though, that the language of the talk should be more oriented to children. We also find that the public expects to observe planets, stars, and constellations, and very few of them are disappointed with the whole experience. The participants also perceive the historical value of the old refractor and declare that the activity brought them feelings of wonderment. We concluded that our instruments and methodology are suitable to evaluate similar sky-observation activities. As a next step, we will conduct a survey to identify worldwide institutions that also use historically valuable telescopes in their public observations with the goal of exchanging experiences and discussing the use of such instruments with education purposes.