EDUCATION
I have participated from 2021 to the present.
In this project, I am part of the organizing committee. We manage several programs within the node (described below). Support in the organization and application of activities of each project, but in addition, we work on creating new projects to bring astronomy to children and young students in more Colombian regions.
RECA Education
Project | RECA education node
From the RECA education node, we want to unite the professional community of astronomers in Colombia with boys, girls, and young people from schools so that they are motivated and get to know astronomy as a related career, which can be accessed professionally and not just as a hobby.
We currently have 4 main projects:
- "Astronomy Goes to Your School (2021-present)," in which I collaborated with the organization to create astronomy-school talks.
-"Observing with Astronomers (2022-present)," in which, in agreement with Shadow the Scientist, we connect remotely to schools with professional observatories at the time of astronomical observation.
-"Accompaniment to Colombian schools (2021-present)", where we support schools that want to start seedbeds and have astronomical instruments that they do not know how to use, among others.
-"Drawing contests: Pintando el Universo," with the support of the Colombian Embassy in Spain, in 2024, we launched a drawing contest for all the departments of the country, where two astronomers from Colombia and Spain motivated the students to make a drawing relating astronomy and Colombian culture. Thanks to the contribution of Editorial Planetas, we gave books as prizes to these students with the best drawings, which were exhibited in the Planetarium of Madrid between December 2024 - March 2025.
-"Bringing the Astronomy to Rural Communities in Colombia (2024-present)" funding for the IAU (OAD). This project promotes science education in Colombian rural schools by providing activities and resources that are available to them despite the absence of internet connectivity. We want to reach 100 schools in rural areas, each with ~50 children ages 5-15, targeting ~5000 children in total. We will send a box containing materials for conducting fundamental astronomy activities, games, and a USB drive with written and recorded instructions, as well as short interviews with Colombian astronomers.
I participated from 2022 - 2024.
In 2021 I was a student in the first RECA Internship and I loved the experience as a student so the following year I joined the committee to support these types of initiatives to continue. Since I have been part of the committee, I have been mainly in charge of statistics and management of the website and social networks.
RECA
Internship
RECA | Internship Node
The RECA Internship is a space that was opened for advanced Colombian undergraduate students to approach astronomical research with professionals from different parts of the world.
The first year (2021) the program was carried out without financing, but since then contact has been made with different institutions and companies that have contributed so that this program can be financed (2022-2023).
I participated in the project during 2021.
In this project I took part as a Moderator (a "teacher" role, rather a guide in the teaching process). I thought it was a super nice experience in which I learned a lot of teaching methods and female inclusion. But above all, I learned from my country.
STEAM Girls
Project | Teaching and motivation to girls between 12-15 years old
Project in agreement between the Maloka Interactive Museum and the Ministry of National Education, for the teaching of Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics, for girls aged 12-15 from all over the National territory, from urban and rural regions of the country . But above all to encourage and motivate girls to have equal abilities in these areas.
This was a very confrontational and personal growth experience for both the girls and myself.
Press
RECA participation in LARIM 2023 (Montevideo, Uruguay)
We have a poster explaining what RECA is and its scope in the last 3 years. To make known to the entire Latin American Astronomy community.
RECA's participation in the Winter AAS 2025 (National Harbor, USA)
Llevamos una charla explicando lo que es RECA y su alcance en los últimos 4 años. Para dar a conocer con toda la comunidad estadounidense de la Astronomía.
RECA: Mentoring, internship and educational programs as tools to overcome inequalities for Astronomy students in Colombia
Ospina, N.; Agudelo-Vásquez, M. ; Buitrago-Casas, J. C. Diaz-Castillo, S. M. ; Garavito-Camargo, N. ; Oliveros-Gomez, N. ;Pinilla-Jurado, S. ; Quiroga-Nuñez, L. H. ; Rojas-Ruiz, S. ;Salazar-Manzano, L. E. ; Uchima-Tamayo, J. P. Plazas Malagón, A. A. ; Abril-Melgarejo, V. ; Bonilla-Rivera, A. ; Cardenas-Avendaño, A. ; Cardona-Torres, L. ; Chaparrro, G. ; Fernandez-Arenas, D. ; Gonzalez-Sanchez, J. ; Gutierrez, C. P. ; Peña-Ramirez, K. ; Quitian-Lara, H. ; Ramírez-Agudelo, O. H. Suarez-Perez, J. F. Vargas-Bastidas, A. Villa-Vélez, J. A. ; Villamil Sastre, M.
RECA Internship: An opportunity for Hispanic communityunits to overcome research barriers in Astronomy
Quiroga-Nunez, Luis; Plazas Malagon, Andres; Peña-Ramirez, Karla; Gonzalez Sanchez, Javier; Buitrago-Casas, Juan; Garavito-Camargo, Nicolas; Quitián-Lara, Heidy; Cardenas-Avendano, Alejandro; Chaparro, German; April Melgarejo, Valentina; Bonilla Rivera, Alexander; Oliveros Gomez, Natalia; Salazar Manzano, Luis