Students are always very curious to know what the life of an ALMA worker is like. Not only to learn about the discoveries we make.
Under this premise, Henry Tapia, Mechanical and HVAC Technics, visited five third grade classes of a school in Quilpué where his granddaughter studies. Through posters, videos, didactic games, and links to the ALMA Kids website, Henry shared the experience of working at ALMA, achieving an excellent interaction with the students.
“It was very motivating to share with the children, because their concerns and participation were very outstanding, involving high respect and interest in astronomy”, says Henry.
Juan Carlos Salamanca, carrier operator, did the same for the machinery and heavy vehicles area of the DUOC professional institute, Puerto Montt, to whom he spoke via zoom about the operation of the transporters.
Even the director of ALMA went to the school. This time to the English Day in Toconao, where, of course, the students had to express themselves in English. “It was amazing, I had a very fun morning. I talked to many children and they were very enthusiastic, explaining to me the projects they were doing. It was very exciting to see, and very important in such a small community,” says Sean.
And we also have international ambassadors. Norikazu Mizuno, interim director of operations and chief engineer, has been visiting Japanese schools in Paraguay and Argentina since 2016, as part of NAOJ’s Friendly Astronomy (FUREAI) program.
Through that initiative, this year Norikazu went to Colegio Japón, in Paraguay, where he had the opportunity to talk with children aged 7 to 12.
“It was good and fun,” Norikazu tells us about his recent visit to Paraguay. “I gave the talk during the day, and in the evening we saw Jupiter and Saturn with a telescope while they had a mini barbecue in the evening,” he adds.
“The children engage with endless questions, showing their interest and their enormous capacity to think totally out of the box. Showing our little knowledge of the Cosmos to children is always a rewarding experience, and, above all, unpredictable!”, concludes Sergio Martin, Operations Performance Manager, who also had the opportunity to go to school in Toconao to explain the Solar System to children from first to fourth grade.
See all the photos of our recent “ambassadors”.
Increíble!!! Grandes embajadores!!