To celebrate science month in Chile, during October 2023 the Mobile Laboratory "Conciencia Astronomía" operated by the Las Campanas Observatory (LCO), in alliance with the EcoScience Foundation and the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMTO), visited the third and fourth regions of Chile, to carry out activities with children, young people and adults.
The first activity took place at the Roberto Cuadra Alquinta School in the town of Domeyko, located in the Atacama Region. Students from the nearby towns of Incahuasi and Cachiyuyo joined the two-day workshops. A total of one hundred elementary school students from the area participated.
Subsequently, the LabMobile moved to Tierras Blancas, in the Coquimbo Region. This visit took place within the framework of the 63rd anniversary of the town, thanks to the efforts of the community area of the Tierras Blancas Municipal Delegation. More than 500 people from the locality participated, including children from 4th to 8th grade and social organizations of the territory.
After this visit, the Mobile Laboratory visited the towns of Huasco and Freirina to conduct workshops with children and teachers from the José Miguel Carrera, El Olivar, Mireya Zuleta and Emilia Schwabe schools. Approximately 200 students participated in the workshops.
Finally, LCO participated in the "Fiesta Costumbrista en Cachiyuyo, poblado de sol y desierto", carrying out activities inside the LabMovil for about 150 inhabitants of the area, which included solar observation.
All the activities of the Mobile Laboratory "Conciencia astronomía" are carried out between the Las Campanas Observatory, the EcoScience Foundation and the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMTO). The mission of LabMóvil is to promote science education in children and young people, as well as to attract the general public to astronomy through simple and replicable experiments. In addition, the laboratory is joined by the traveling backpack "Universe with All Senses", created by the Planetarium of Medellin (Colombia) and the International Astronomical Union (IAU), to teach astronomy to blind and visually impaired people. This backpack was donated to the GMTO, an institution that took on the task of replicating this material in Chile at low cost.