Students from Angol held an astronomy workshop with CATA

Through hands-on workshops and astronomy talks, the Angol school community got closer to astronomy over two days.

The Center for Astrophysics and Associated Technologies (CATA) held a day of talks and workshops on astronomy in the Araucanía region. The event took place at Angol School and was aimed at students from that school, as well as Mozart School and San Francisco de Asís School. The initiative sought to bring astronomy closer to children and young people in the community.

For two days, workshops entitled “Let’s draw the Moon!” and “Create your own Nebula” were held in the classrooms of the educational establishment. At the same time, the CATA team gave talks entitled “Do black holes exist?” and “Big Bang: The expansion of the universe.”

In the evening, a nighttime observation workshop using the naked eye was held for the general community of Angol, as well as a lecture entitled “A Brief History of Astronomy in Chile,” given by Outreach Content Coordinator José Utreras.

The CATA astronomer emphasized the importance of bringing knowledge of astronomy to the city. “Bringing astronomy to Angol was a valuable experience because it allows students to encounter science in a close and meaningful way. At CATA, we seek to do just that: create spaces where knowledge is accessible and awakens new curiosities,” said José Utreras.

The Angol School highlighted the importance of the activity for its school community. “For us as a school, it is very important that our students have access to first-hand information, and having scientists visit us allows our children to share and learn about the knowledge that comes with them, which is wonderful. It also generates obvious motivation through their participation in each of the activities,” they said.

The evaluation of the day was also rated as “fantastic, as our students’ opinions are favorable and they want activities of this type to be repeated, since behind these comments there are positive emotions originating from the stimuli provided in the various activities carried out by CATA,” commented the school.

Regarding the reception by the three participating schools, they indicated that “the reception by the students from our institution as well as from Mozart School and San Francisco de Asís was undoubtedly positive, as they conveyed to us through various means their favorable opinion of the talks and their enthusiasm for being considered in new instances. Internally, our children asked on more than one level if this activity would have a 2026 version.”

The astronomy workshop held by CATA in Angol reflects the Center’s commitment to bringing science closer to various educational communities throughout the country, promoting access to knowledge and interest in the universe from an early age.