Informal educational strategies in teaching geosciences when formal courses are unavailable: The experience of aulaGEA in Buenos Aires, Argentina

摘要

The presence of geosciences in the curriculum of primary and secondary schools in Argentina has been highly dependent on educational policies that change frequently under political circumstances. Subjects related to geology, geophysics, meteorology, and astronomy make their appearance and disappear under the influence of educational initiatives that shift focus under changing political circumstances. This paper briefly refers to the evolution of the process in recent decades and describes the efforts made by the Department of Geological Sciences of the University of Buenos Aires to cope with the situation. In 1998, the Department established a science popularization program, AulaGEA ("geo-classroom" in English), with the goal of helping preuniversity students, teachers, and the general public acquire basic knowledge of the geosciences. This was accomplished through different activities and initiatives that are presented here with the hope that they can be useful and inspiring to others working in educational environments that pose similar challenges to geosciences education.