Outreach

I often joke that I have done science outreach in three languages, even though I only really speak two. It sounds silly, but it’s true, and it shows how much I love doing it. Below I outline a variety of outreach activities that I have been involved since high school.

Mexico Solar Eclipse 1991

I can say my outreach “career” started by necessity. I was part of a group of high schoolers that used the summer holidays to teach basic math and reading skills to adults in rural Mexico. A total solar eclipse took place in the middle of the summer and there was a great opportunity to educate the people in the town where we were teaching about the nature of eclipses and viewing safety. Due to my early interest in astronomy, I took the lead in getting solar filters to give away, and teaching the basic facts to my classmates so they could in turn teach their adult students.

Visiting Classrooms

I have visited classrooms for every age range from 2 y.o. to High Schools, in Mexico, Texas, and recently Germany. For large groups, I prefer to do regular presentations, leaving ample time for questions. For smaller groups I normally do hands-on activities. Within the last two years, I have talked in front of several hundred students, and once in Laredo I answered of the order of 75 questions from a very enthusiastic group of middle schoolers. I have given talks mostly on the subject of black holes (the most requested subject by far), planets, and galaxies.

Talks to organized groups

I have ample experience talking to organized groups such as: amateur astronomy clubs, nature loving groups, Rotary/Lions clubs, Natural Parks or sites, museum goers, Astronomy on Tap, retired people organizations, specialized professional groups, undergraduate students, public talks at universities, etc… I am very used to adapting and scaling content up or down depending on specific audiences, anywhere from 10 to 40 minutes.

Nibiru

One of the most satisfying outreach experiences I have had was in Mexico City when I got recruited to work with a student lead astronomy organization that puts together a large variety of outreach activities. My specific job was to help design short film series with varied scientific or technical content that always featured a debate at the end of the film. I was one of several who worked to find speakers for the debates and introduced the films every two weeks.

Podcast appearances

FutureXplorations podcast: Audio, Video (In English)

Tras los Fotones podcast: Audio (En español)