Universum: Mexico’s Premier Science Museum Advancing Asteroid Education and Public Outreach
Universum: Mexico’s Premier Science Museum Advancing Asteroid Education and Public Outreach https://asteroidday-uploads.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/18100425/Capture-decran-2024-09-18-a-10.03.45.png 530 350 Asteroid Day https://asteroidday-uploads.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/18100425/Capture-decran-2024-09-18-a-10.03.45.png
The principal science and technology museum in one of the world’s largest cities provides engaging activities focused on educating visitors about asteroids and planetary defense.
The Museum of Sciences at Mexico’s Autonomous National University, commonly referred to as Universum, was established in 1992 on the university campus and serves as the principal Mexican museum dedicated to promoting science and technology to the public.
Located in Mexico City, one of the world’s most populous cities, the museum aims to contribute to developing a scientific and technological culture while engaging the community’s interest in these fields.
The museum welcomes students from all educational levels and the general public, from Mexico and other countries. Additionally, it supports the scientific missions of its affiliated university. Since 2007, it has engaged in asteroid-related research, including studying objects entering the Earth’s atmosphere, meteorites, impact craters, and more.
Posters from various Asteroid Day events organised by the Universum Museum. The 2017 edition (left) marked its first participation.
The museum has been actively participating in Asteroid Day for this reason. The involvement began when one of the university students discovered the Asteroid Day website and shared it with their colleagues and instructors. In 2017, during its inaugural participation, museum events became a key reference point in the Americas.
The Asteroid Day has been organised by a special team, among them Karina Elizabeth Cervantes de la Cruz, from the National School of Terra Sciences, María Guadalupe Cordero Tercero from the Institute of Geophysics and Eduardo Alberto Piña Mendoza, head of department
in the general directorate of scientific dissemination.
Dr. Maria Guadalupe Cordero Tercero from the Institute of Geophysics at UNAM is frequently invited to present on the topic of asteroids through lectures and webinars each year. Additionally, she is a member of the team responsible for organising events at the Universum Museum.
Their experiences in studying smaller bodies in the solar system, analyzing cosmic collisions, assessing impact risks, and effectively communicating this information to the public using accessible language have ensured that the museum’s events on Asteroid Day are consistently regarded as a benchmark in the field.
Workshops, games, exhibitions, competitions. The public has many options at the museum’s Asteroid Day events.
The events include informative lectures, webinars, workshops, contests, exhibitions, and games such as sudoku, lottery, catguts, etc. These resources help to dispel public concerns about the risk of asteroid impacts on Earth. It is rewarding for the organizing team to witness the enthusiasm and application of knowledge demonstrated by students and attendees while they engage in these enjoyable activities.
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