Public Outreach
Light:Beyond the Bulb
To celebrate the International Year of Light, a year-long initiative in 2015 endorsed by the United Nations, a new exhibit of spectacular images is being unveiled. This exhibit will visit Puerto Rico during the month of April 2015.This exhibit is open to the public and free of charge. It will be displayed in the second floor of the Main Library José M. Lázaro at the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus. Guided tours will be available on Tuesday’s and Thursday’s during the month of April for school groups with reservations. For reservations call the Department of Physics at 787-764-0620. "Light: Beyond the Bulb" (LBTB) is an open-source international exhibition program that showcases the incredible variety of light-based science being conducted today. Accompanied by brief and informative captions, the images in the collection include examples from across the electromagnetic spectrum, across different scientific disciplines, and across technological platforms.
This is the latest incarnation of a "public science" project being led by the same team that created the "From Earth to the Universe" (FETTU) project for the International Year of Astronomy 2009, and others. LBTB is being made possible by a collaboration between the Chandra X-ray Center that runs science and operations for NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics. Additional support is being provided by the International Astronomical Union, which recognizes LBTB as one of its cornerstone projects for IYL 2015. For more information: http://lightexhibit.org
Exoplanets Workshop for Teachers
On June 24, 2013 Dr. Carmen A. Pantoja and Dr. Gloria M. Isidro presented the teacher workshop "Search for Exoplanets" at the Interamerican University, Bayamón campus. The teachers reviewed the history of Kepler's contributions to science, they worked on activities related to Kepler's three laws for planetary motion and how exoplanets are discovered as part of the Kepler Mission of NASA.
Sun Workshop for Teachers
On June 11, 2013 Dr. Mayra E. Lebrón and Dr. Gloria Isidro presented the teacher workshop "The Sun" at the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez campus. The teachers learned about the physical properties of the Sun, and practiced the concept of scale models, using the size of the Sun as a reference.
Exoplanets Workshop for Teachers Photos
On Saturday December 8, 2012 Dr. Pantoja, Dr. Lebrón and Prof. Isidro presented the teacher workshop with the theme of "Exoplanets" at the UPR-Mayagüez. This workshop was part of a pilot project on Space Missions directed by Dr. Juan González Lagoa with the assistance of Ms. Dolores Balzac and Sandra Troche, as part of a program from the PR Space Grant.
Galaxies as Didactic Material
During the week of 22 -29 April, 2012 we had the visit of Dr. Alberto Noriega-Crespo (IPAC/Caltech) to collaborate with Drs. Pantoja and Lebrón. During his stay, the students from the Astrophysics course and the Cosmology course had the opportunity to participate of an observing session at the Arecibo Observatory.
Dr. Noriega-Crespo offered two talks: "Star Formation in the Milky Way" and "The Spitzer Space Telescope and the Infrared Universe".
From Earth to the Solar System
During the month of October 2011 the University of Puerto Rico will host the Exhibit: From Earth to the Solar System (FETTSS). This collection of images showcases the excitement of planetary exploration - our journey to understand the origin and evolution of the Solar System, and or search for life elsewhere. The images are at once artistic and informative, weaving together themes in astrobiology, planetary science and astronomy, including contributions from backyard astronomers, large telescopes in space and even point-and-shoot cameras of field researchers, the collection represents the current state of exploration as seen through the eyes of the scientific community.
The University of Puerto Rico joins the celebration of NASA's Year of the Solar System (YSS), spanning a Martian Year of 23 months. During the month of october 2011 in addition to the exhibit of FETTSS at the Main Library:Biblioteca Lázaro, there will be a Movie Cycle of Science Fiction Films with a discussion panel each Tuesday at 6:30 p.m., a Cycle of Astronomy Conferences each Thursday at 6:30 p.m., on Saturday October 15th there will be an Astronomy Festival (9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.) in front of the University tower with astronomical observations, displays and exhibits for the General Public and on Monday's and Thursday's form 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. there will be guided tours of the FETTSS exhibit for school groups.
Join the Celebration!
