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NSN Webinar: Partnering with Latino Audiences for the Eclipse and Beyond

NSN Webinar: Partnering with Latino Audiences for the Eclipse and Beyond

  • Daytime Event
  • Inside Venue
  • Outside Venue
  • Target Audience
  • Adult
  • 05/11/2017
Astronomy clubs reach out to many groups in their communities, from schools to churches to libraries and beyond. Many clubs work with their local Latino communities to do outreach in English and Spanish. This webinar covered best practices for reaching out to your local Latino and Hispanic audiences to get the word out about the eclipse and beyond. You can view the recording below or directly on the Night Sky Network YouTube channel

Join veteran astronomers and educators as they share practical tips and considerations for reaching out to this diverse community. Dr. Isabel Hawkins, Astronomer and Project Director at the Exploratorium in San Francisco is passionate about facilitating authentic participation of underserved communities, particularly Latinos, in STEM education in ways that allow for bringing the entirety of cultural identity to bear in the learning of science. Dr. Bryan Méndez joins us from UC Berkeley's Space Science Lab and is well known for his work on the Calendar in the Sky project, connecting the knowleged of the Maya with NASA science. Alex Quinonez is an amateur astronomer and science specalist at SAM Academy in central California, where he inspires kids to get creative with their science learning. And Jose Sandoval is a program specialist at the Community Science Workshop Network, Inc. in California's Central Valley.

Dr. Isabel Hawkins is a bilingual and bicultural science educator and astronomer and a native of Cordoba, Argentina. She holds a PhD in astrophysics from UCLA, and worked in research and education at UC Berkeley’s Space Sciences Laboratory for 20 years before joining the Exploratorium in 2009. Her current projects include the Exploratorium’s Latino Audience Engagement Initiative; PI of the NSF-funded GENIAL Summit (Generating Engagement and New Initiatives for All Latinos); and Consultant for the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian.

Dr. Bryan Méndez is an astronomer and education specialist at UC Berkeley’s Space Sciences Laboratory and a professor of physics at Diablo Valley College. He is a father of the most precious twin boys in all the cosmos, a sci-fi/fantasy geek with particular obsessions for Star Wars and Star Trek, a saxophonist, a budding filmmaker, and a Californian transplanted from Michigan. Dr. Méndez develops programs for the public through the web and museums, develops classroom materials for students in K-12 classrooms, conducts professional development for science educators, and teaches college courses in astronomy and physics. Bryan is bicultural, of Mexican and European backgrounds, and strives to foster diverse perspectives in his work.

Resources available in Spanish:
Spanish Eclipse Poster
Spanish Pinhole Projector Postcard
NASA/AAS Safety Sheet in Spanish
Share these Eclipse Videos in Spanish

Other Resources:
Night Sky Network 2017 Solar Eclipse page
Strategies for Engaging Bilingual Audiences Handout
More Key Ingredients for Engaging Latino Families
The Vanishing Sun: Eclipse Tales from Around the World
Astronomy of Many Cultures Resource Guide
AAS Diversity/Inclusion resources

This webinar is made possible by a grant from the American Astronomical Society. See more about the full grant and winners of free eclipse materials in Spanish here

Last Updated: June 14, 2017

Video

Webinar Recording: Partnering with Latino Audiences

Recording of the webinar from June 13, 2017.