IMPA Tech students take a guided tour of PlanetáRio

20/05/2024

IMPA Tech students, accompanied by IMPA’s director-general, Marcelo Viana, took a guided tour of PlanetáRio (Planetarium Foundation of the City of Rio de Janeiro) on Saturday (18). The space houses the Carl Sagan Dome, the largest in Latin America, where the university students had an immersive experience observing the sky. With audiovisual sessions and projections on the ceiling, it was possible to identify constellations and their stars.

Located in Gávea, the Rio Planetarium also houses the Museum of the Universe, a space with various interactive experiments and exhibitions, such as the School Ship, where it was possible to learn curiosities about the formation of the universe and the planets of the Milky Way, such as Planet Earth.

Viana explained that the visit marked the beginning of a series of complementary activities that will be worked on during the undergraduate program. “At IMPA Tech we want to give our students a broad and comprehensive education, going far beyond mathematics and pragmatic content. A visit like this is part of this complementary training, and will certainly be followed by other activities, so that, at the end of the degree, the young people have a complete and in-depth citizenship training,” she said.

The excursion also marked the first activity in the partnership between IMPA and PlanetáRio. “It’s a very good initiative for both institutions because through cooperation we’ve been able to provide new opportunities and interactive applications. I think the students enjoyed it, especially as we have people from all over the country coming together in the largest planetarium in Latin America,” said Renan Uccelli, president of the Foundation.

The students were able to observe in practice some of the concepts that are also worked on during their undergraduate studies, as Gileade Coimbra, from Belo Horizonte (MG), shared. “The experience was fantastic, I learned a lot of things! It’s very interesting how astronomy is an area of transdisciplinary knowledge. Here we saw physics concepts that we’re working on in our Introduction to Laboratory classes, and subjects that are linked to our Language Skills work. The visit brought concepts and provocations that will add to my education.”

Gabrielly Rocha, from São José dos Campos (SP), was already interested in astronomy and astronautics before the visit, but was surprised by the experience. “I’ve been studying astronomy Olympically for some time and even so, I was surprised by some of the curiosities. I think that scientific outreach visits like this are very important, because even if they don’t give the full information, they arouse curiosity to pursue it. And that’s what we need in academia: willingness, hope and confidence in learning,” she said.

Bianca Moreno, from Fortaleza (CE), didn’t have much of an affinity for the area, but found the experience enriching. “The tour was a lot of fun! It was interesting to be able to learn more about the universe. I think all kinds of knowledge are good! Knowing about new areas, even if it’s not the one I want to work in in the future, adds to our education,” said the student.

Read more: IMPA and Rio Planetarium to exchange experiences
See also: IMPA Tech students participate in the 4th Women in Mathematics Meeting