Curiosity is what drives humanity to change, to evolve. History taught us this with the “Great Navigations”. The mysterious oceans, the unknown lands, and the speculated mythological monsters were objects of fascination and fear, but, more than anything else, to urge of discovery. Centuries later, (almost) nothing has changed, except for the focus of our curiosity. Space is for us what the oceans had been for our ancestors. Let’s do the same as they did, so! Let’s look up in the sky and let ourselves be guided by our puerile inquiry mode to search for more questions rather than answers.

If there is a subject that can captivate anyone, it’s Astronomy. It’s what makes us dream bigger, what inspires us to study more and more to understand at least a little of this infinite paradise that Space is. In one of my research projects, called “Astronomy awakening to learning Natural Sciences and Mathematics”, we see exactly how this fascinating theme can be a source for captivating students to construct a solid base in STEM. Have you ever imagined teaching Maths or Physics content to children while correlating what they learn to what they see in a beautiful starred night? It’d certainly create a giant curiosity to help in the understanding of abstract concepts. I cannot say for all countries, but in Brazil, we should definitely have more contact with Astronomy at school.

Camila G. - 12/16/2021