NSF Award
1536212
The U.S. has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in astronomy infrastructure in Chile, and continues to invest tens of millions of dollars more each year to operate federal telescopes. One avenue that can foster strong relationships between the U.S.-funded observatories and local Chilean communities is an extensive public outreach effort. This award will support the Principal Investigator to organize and lead a Chile-U.S. Astronomy Education Outreach Summit as the next step to strengthening that partnership. The conference attendees will share best practices in astronomy education and outreach, with almost all of the major U.S.-funded observatories based in Chile taking part. In addition, personnel from Chilean educational and funding institutions will attend. The workshop will produce a 'roadmap' that describes the state of the art in astronomy education and public outreach, while at the same time identifying future needs. This roadmap will be used by the major U.S. astronomical facilities to guide their strategic planning. The resulting education and outreach activities will also be transferable to both the US and Chilean educational communities.<br/><br/>This award is co-funded by the NSF Office of International Science and Engineering.
