Julietas, scientists at school

Let’s go exploring, strolling, sniffing and looking through new eyes at nature! Thanks to a group of scientists, journalists and popularisers, several girls at schools in Chile have had the chance to savor science in the natural environment. And yes, you heard right, the girls are the stars of the project Julieta la exploradora.

This project has consisted in arousing the interest of girls in Chile for science by giving them a kit consisting of a notebook, a magnifying glass, a rain gauge, a torch and a pencil, as an alternative to the stereotyped games the market has to offer. In this way we hope to break with constructed roles and identities in the population and reduce levels of inequality in the numbers of women doing science in Chile.

Kit in hand, feet on the ground and with a lot of imagination, the girls went out to explore the clouds, the rain, the rocks of the Andes range and the plants and animals they found on their way. After this fun experience playing at scientists, the result was very positive and the words most heard at the end of the day were ‘When I grow up, I want to be a scientist’.

We need more projects like this one to spread the importance of science to the little ones and get rid of inequalities between men and women in the world of science! Thank-you, Julieta!