27/06/2022

IMPA's Olympic Girls visit the Astronomy Museum.

With the sparkle in their eyes of those meeting an idol for the first time, 58 young participants from IMPA's Olympic Girls program spoke with scientist Patrícia Spinelli and visited the Museum of Astronomy and Related Sciences (MAST) last Friday (24). The second external activity of the program, which aims to motivate girls in the areas of exact sciences and sciences, was full of new discoveries about the history of space exploration and curious facts about the stars.

MAST astronomer Patrícia Spinelli spoke about the daily life of a scientist, the role of astronomical research, and the importance of female presence in the field. “Astronomy has an enchanting potential that goes beyond scientific questions. It has a philosophical and aesthetic dimension when we think about astronomical images. It's always a pleasure to talk about astronomy, especially to a young audience. We want them to feel a sense of belonging, both in doing science and in frequenting public spaces of knowledge,” she commented.

The museum guides provided information about the solar system, sky observation, navigation instruments, and maps. Visitors also viewed the exhibition about the Brazilian scientist Álvaro Alberto da Mota e Silva (1889-1976), who was a vice-admiral in the Brazilian Navy. “The importance of visiting a place like MAST is enormous, and so much knowledge is presented in a single visit. We learned about astronomy, physics, mathematics, history, and many other things. MAST is very well prepared for educational activities and welcomed us very warmly!” commented Letícia Rangel, teacher and coordinator of the program.

Isadora Hilgert, a student at Colégio Pedro II's Humaitá campus and a member of IMPA's Girls' Olympics, considers the initiative a chance to get closer to the exact sciences. “It's been really great. We had a visit to IMPA, which was interesting because we got to meet mathematicians and learn more about this profession, and now we're visiting MAST. It's worth visiting the museum, and I know I'll be back again. It's very good to get closer to mathematics again, because I think the pandemic ended up distancing me a bit from this study,” she says.

Her classmate Luísa Quintella, also from Colégio Pedro II, considers the visit to be one of the highlights of the program. “I always looked for initiatives at school to get involved in STEM fields, and the IMPA Girls' Olympics program has practically everything I expected! From classes focused on Olympiads and robotics projects to the visit to MAST. It was the best part so far! It's an interactive museum, well explained, and it left me with more questions than answers, which I think is the goal of science,” said Luísa.

The IMPA Girls' Olympics program aims to encourage the participation of girls aged 14 to 17 in mathematics olympiads and other STEM fields, with the goal of increasing female representation in professions related to mathematics, computer science, and engineering. The second edition of the program is present in 10 schools in different regions of Rio de Janeiro and in Niterói, and includes professors from all five universities in Rio de Janeiro that offer mathematics degrees: Rio de Janeiro State University (UERJ), Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRRJ), Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro (Unirio), Fluminense Federal University (UFF), and Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ).

In each participating school, the program is coordinated by a teacher from the unit and accompanied by a mathematics undergraduate or a graduate student in the exact sciences field. Other activities planned for this edition, supported by Faperj (Rio de Janeiro State Research Support Foundation), include laboratories, discussion groups, panels, Olympiad challenges, and workshops in mathematics, computing, and robotics, as well as debates on gender issues.