NSF Award
1619481
The nation of Chile hosts many of the world's most important and productive astronomical facilities. Both Chile and the U.S. have a rich history of astronomy education outreach. The coordinated efforts undertaken by the 2016 Chile-U.S. Astronomy Education Outreach Summit will positively impact a large fraction of the Chilean population. Resources that result from this effort (e.g. Spanish-language astronomy education materials) can likely be transferred back to the U.S., where benefits can be realized in a growing Hispanic population. By encouraging a widespread appreciation of the many important roles that astronomy plays in Chile, these activities should help protect the U.S. investments in astronomy infrastructure in Chile, as well as enhance astronomy education in this country.<br/><br/>The 2016 Chile-U.S. Astronomy Education Outreach Summit is an effort lead by the major U.S. observatories in Chile and their management organizations. The goal is to improve astronomy education and public outreach (EPO) efforts in Chile, as well as EPO collaborations between institutions in Chile and the U.S. This proposal builds on the success and lessons learned from the first Chile-US Astronomy Education Outreach summit. The proposed March 2016 summit will bring together key stakeholders from all U.S. astronomy facilities in Chile and key Chilean stakeholder groups. It will focus on additional partnership opportunities and on the implementation of an action plan to address critical astronomy EPO needs.
