AportaCiencias Program celebrates science in closing ceremony

With a discussion on science communication, the AportaCiencias Program ends two years of execution of the initiative that developed and explored science together with sixty girls, boys and young people from the Aysén region.

Within the framework of the closure of the AportaCiencias Program, an initiative promoted by the Patagonia UACh Campus and financed by the Innovation Fund for Competitiveness of the Regional Government of Aysén, on July 7 a ceremony was held at the Regional Museum of Aysén that brought together girls, boys and young people with their families and teachers from the Region.

AportaCiencias is an informal, strategic and disruptive learning project for the development of science skills that seeks to stimulate interaction with the scientific community and citizen training in science with a vocation for the territory.

Communicating I contribute

Seeking to celebrate the two years of execution of the Program, the ceremony featured various activities, including the discussion “Communicating I contribute” by Macarena Rojas, biologist, master’s degree in Journalism from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile and science communicator, along with Catalina Silva, activist for climate action, student of Environmental Biology at the University of Chile and co-founder of “1000 Actions for a Change”.

The discussion highlighted the role of science communication in a local and global context. In this regard, Marisol Barría, director of AportaCiencias, pointed out: “Just as science is necessary for the development of society, moving towards a more attractive and effective communication of science is essential so that scientific knowledge is accessible to people, promoting its appropriation and the development of scientific thought that contributes to a more informed community and with arguments for decision-making”.

ContributesScience in the territory

After the discussion “Communicating I contribute” the ceremony included an acknowledgment of the Program participants along with their families and the teaching community.

Miguel Pérez, attorney for Gabriela Pérez, participant in the Program, commented: “During the pandemic as a family we were complicated with time, classes and connections, and AportaCiencias was a balm, it adapted and motivated the children with an important approach of genre.

I saw my daughter motivated and passionate every time she participated in the activities of the Program and I have seen how she has been consolidating her interest in science. We are very proud to be here today and close this cycle, we know that many opportunities are opening up for her”.

Regarding his participation in the Program, Nelson De la Hoz, a basic education student and participant of AportaCiencias, stated: “I really liked participating in the Program. At one point they sent us home a technological kit to work on and it was great, they gave us a lot of material, support and taught us how to use the materials”.

Collaborative science for the new times

The development of the AportaCiencias Program marks a milestone in the way of doing and looking at science in informal learning spaces and in virtual contexts where the territorial and social approach was evident from the design of each experience and its strong collaborative nature.

“This was my first approach to science, and I want to highlight the spirit of collaboration in the Program and among our classmates and tutors. It opened a door for me to the world of research and science that I now love and that I want to continue in it based on this AportaCiencias experience,” said Ignacia Núñez, a high school student and Program participant.

Regarding this, Marisol Barría concluded: “The sense of collaborative work and community was present in each space where we interacted with children and young people from establishments in the districts of Coyhaique, Aysén, Cisnes and Villa O’Higgins, together with the community science and institutions that supported us on this path that was very successful. Now the Program is projected on each of the children and young people who were part of this initiative and we hope to see how they put into practice the learning achieved in this experience, becoming agents of change within their communities: You are now AportaCiencias en the territory”.