Enhancing Space Science Communication with Cross-Cultural Venues in Latino Communities

Details Enhancing Space Science Communication with Cross-Cultural Venues in Latino Communities Enhancing Space Science Communication with Cross-Cultural Venues in Latino Communities

Dec 2006

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2006agufmed54a..04m&link_type=abstract

American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2006, abstract #ED54A-04

Other

0815 Informal Education, 0855 Diversity

Scientific paper

Brownsville, Texas in the Rio Grande Valley is the site of an annual space science outreach event that illustrates successful methods of communicating science across cultural and economical boundaries. The Lower Rio Grande valley is predominantly rural, Spanish speaking with large portions of the population at or below the poverty line. Many of the Latino students drop out of school before receiving a high school diploma. For the past four years the University of Texas at Brownsville (UTB) has brought a group of educators, high school and undergraduate students to Houston for training at Johnson Space Center and the Houston Museum of Natural Science. The group subsequently organizes a one day event for 5th-8th grade students, teachers and administrators that is focused on a space science theme. In 2006 over 500 participants learned about NASA's return to the Moon. The attendees listened to a talk by a NASA scientist, viewed exhibits of lunar materials and participated in 20 different hands-on activities. Examples of the activities were the effects of the Sun's solar winds on regolith formation, lunar craters, potential water resources and future exploration. The event is a success because it is locally supported and organized by UTB and its students. UTB has taken "ownership" of the yearly activity. Outside support is limited to scientific data and information, supplying a guest speaker and materials support. Materials support can include NASA displays, telescopes, a portable planetarium and selected planetarium shows. Communication barriers between English speaking and Spanish speaking are eliminated as over ninety percent of the local leaders are bilingual. Additionally the portable planetarium has Spanish language programs. This is an example of an activity that crosses across cultural boundaries and can be exported to other regions of the western hemisphere.

Affiliated with

Also associated with

No associations

Rating

Enhancing Space Science Communication with Cross-Cultural Venues in Latino Communities does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with Enhancing Space Science Communication with Cross-Cultural Venues in Latino Communities, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Enhancing Space Science Communication with Cross-Cultural Venues in Latino Communities will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-963612